COD dark eras 2

The Great War 400 grandeur, not an agent provocateur. For now they’re right, but that may one day change. He’s found some embers of German patriotism in his soul, ignited by the prejudices of those around him. Academics 4, Occult 2, Expression 2 The Air-Raid Warden Thomas Upwold isn’t a Londoner — he’s from Somerset — but duty calls, and Thomas answers. He has a bloated sense of self-importance from serving the city’s air defenses. To Thomas’ disappointment, he doesn’t man the antiaircraft weaponry, nor does he fly sorties against the raiders — he works on the administration of the underground stations as shelters from the bombs. Someone probably thought Thomas couldn’t do too much damage in the role. The problem is, he’s paranoid. He actively encourages people to spill stories of suspicion to him, of neighbors whose lights flash in patterns that are surely signaling to the zeppelins. He’s had three Londoners hauled before the courts so far, each cleared by the magistrates. He’s now investigating a fourth, but this time he’s in too deep. The flashing lights in that house are not the work of any mortal hand. Investigation 1, Politics 1, Streetwise 2. The World is Scarred The Great War doesn’t just erode human life by the millions, it crumbles the foundations of empires. The seeds of revolution that took root in Russia find fertile soil across the globe. The romantic notions surrounding monarchs and emperors drown in a tide of blood, mud and resentment. The attitudes of the common people sour on all sides of the conflict. Gone is the greatness of the nation as the grim realities of warfare in the 20th century find their way into the public consciousness. Armies are no longer tens of thousands of trained volunteers, they are millions of untrained, unprepared conscripts. The role of women was irrevocably changed. With the men off fighting at the front, women were pressed into roles previously denied to them, pouring fuel on the revolutionary fire. Economies change forever. States on all sides can see the imperatives of superior production, enabling the supply of more and more massive forces. The advent of the air force and mechanized warfare shift the balance of power from aristocratic landowners to the factory-owning industrialist and the spread of democracy provides opportunity for popular community leaders to rise to seats of power. In Berlin, it is a fall from grace. The collapse of the imperial state and the stringent nature of the enforced armistice throws the morale of the nation into a downward spiral. The Weimar Republic is set in place of old Prussian glory, opening the door to communists who wish to follow the example of their Russian counterparts to tear down all vestiges of their imperial past. For the Entente Allies it is not much better. The fruits of victory are bitter indeed. A generation is devastated and its untold potential in other fields purged in the trenches. The balance of power in the west shifts from the old world to the new. The American industrial juggernaut, primed from the exertions of their civil war, explodes onto the world stage, eclipsing their former colonial overlords in might. British and French imperial subjects in the far east, India and Africa, far greater than those of Germany, stir and talk of freedom and independence. Sin-Eaters around the world are left with the aftermath of conflict on an unprecedented scale. The souls of the restless dead cry out in pain and anger. Resonance hums across the plains of Belgium and France and bubbles beneath the waters of the North Sea. It lies beneath the dirt in Poland and Ukraine. The full extent of the damage done is not resolved even into the modern era. Prometheans who had found use and purpose, as well as some lamplights of humanity, find that purpose stripped from them as they are abandoned by their creators, fit only to be decommissioned like obsolete machinery. The Lineage of the Faceless descends to the Wasteland wholesale as their alchemical pacts are challenged and sundered in their confusion and no new fields of fire exist to replace those who crumble in the Firestorms called down to cleanse their former homes on the front. Ultimately, some are killed by their creators, some turn weapons on themselves or simply walk into the sea, and what remains of the Lineage lingers silently among the ranks of their brethren as Extempore. Their very name is consigned to history, few Prometheans wishing to even speak it due to the memory it raises among them. The spirit world is driven to madness by the reflections of the Great War’s horror. Werewolves seeking to protect the realm of flesh come in huge numbers to calm the tempests and quell the spirits that rise in the tide of death and destruction. Plagues of Azlu erupt to firm up the Gauntlet around those sites of chaos and death, while Beshilu feast on the corruption and decay it has wrought. Long after the humans have laid down their arms and returned home, the Uratha continue their battle, stretched thin as packs travel from far and wide to troublesome areas, leaving other persistent threats lightly guarded. The packs are shorn of numbers by the conflict almost as much as the participating human nations, making their situation ever more urgent and desperate. For the Uratha, the end of the Great War is just the beginning of another phase and they must battle harder than ever to bring the peace of the Great Wolf to war torn regions. Like any crisis, the Great War also provides opportunities to monsters as well as to mortals. For example, the changing of the established order threatens the stranglehold of the Invictus and Lancea et Sanctum on the old nations of Europe and gives greater impetus to the Carthian Movement as it spreads from its beginnings in revolutionary France. Fledgling Kindred see their overlords, both religious and political, as the same hoary old establishment brought down by the mortals in France and Russia. Only the most

401 Welcome to the Meatgrinder well-established and secure strongholds are unaffected by the revolutionary fire erupting in 1918. The world is re-forged in the fires of the Great War. New regimes form in every facet of society. The old rulebooks have been torn asunder and new ones are being written with the blood of a lost generation. Only one thing is certain: such tumult and chaos foments change. Those who have the influence can try to shape that change. The “war to end all wars” is just the prelude to one far deadlier and the peaks of the military industrial complex have not yet been scaled. Already, human and monster alike search for greater powers and weapons to make safe their future and the specter of the Great Depression looms. Werewolf: Death Howl The Great War is a tide of change. The Forsaken cannot ignore it. In France and Belgium, the Western Front inexorably carves a new boundary through old territories. It desecrates ancient places of power, and shatters binding rites with its storm of blood and fire. Hunting grounds vanish in churning mud and belching flame. Once, the wolves here slunk through woodland shadows and sought their prey through rolling fields and dilapidated farmhouses. They revered Luna at sacred places nestled in verdant splendor. That is all gone. Now they stalk among tangled trenches, and drag shrieking soldiers away into the night. The terrifying truth of the carnage of the Western Front is that it does not repulse the Uratha. It calls to them. The immense weight of the slaughter fans the flames of fury in each werewolf’s heart. It is a catastrophe yet exerts an allure that draws more Forsaken in, to feed and kill and revel and die among the flames and the screams. They come from across Europe, pilgrims to the madness. Hundreds of werewolves perish. No-man’s land is a wound in the world so deep it bubbles up with spiritual gangrene. Legions of Lunes descend, shrieking clarion calls to war. Ancient horrors stir beneath the mire; new blasphemies are forged in the crucible of battle. Secrets spill out of the death-saturated dirt. Looming over it all is the shadow of Death Wolf herself. After the first battle of the Marne, Bone Shadows across Europe hear a shrieking howl echo through the Hisil. Many of the Tribe rally to their patron’s call. A god now bestrides the battlefield, a queen of death. Empowered by the slaughter, Kamduis-Ur stalks her greatest prey. Carrion Call A ghost of incredible power gibbers and twists through no-man’s land, lured by the sheer concentration of death. Where it passes, battalions of moaning ghosts are yanked into its orbit, marionettes forced into servitude. It hunts out gateways to the hollow, empty realm of the dead, tearing them open to let more lifeless horrors spill into the world. It is trapped here, for now — the labyrinth of trenches flanking no-man’s land area a metaphysical maze it cannot pass, anointed in the blood of the dead. It forges vile hekatonchieres from pulsating, ruined meat, and waits for its sister to come. This is Death Wolf’s ghost. Torn from her spirit when she died, it is malevolent and hateful. It craves her divine power, and rages at her for abandoning it to the endless, winding tunnels that took it long ages to escape. She, for her part, desires to consume and reabsorb her shade. She lusts after the secrets it found in those plutonic depths, beyond even her reach. Time and again, the two have hunted each other through the world. Here, at the Western Front, the behemoths clash once more. Their deathly hunt races through the Deep Shadow and brief emergence into Twilight. Werewolves catch brief glimpses of vast, lupine presences as the Shadow’s Essence effervesces away to feed divine hunger. Hundreds of wounded soldiers have their lives snuffed out in the wake of the dueling entities, their souls sucked into the icy clash. The conflict will span years, until the front finally breaks and the loser of the struggle can flee to lick their wounds. The Bone Shadows of the front seek to aid their patron. Spirits of death deliver instructions for grand rites that harness the trench networks in miles-long occult patterns, draining Essence from ghosts. Forsaken barghests tear some shades to pieces or seek to protect others. Sin-Eaters are initially mistaken for another blasphemy unleashed by the Firstborn ghost; later, the Bone Shadows reach out in search of understanding and alliance. In the face of this dead fury, the tribe needs all the help it can get. Waking Horrors The Western Front is new, but it is carved across something old. France has been here long before the front becomes the battleground of god and ghost, and will be Death Wolf’s Ghost The ghost of a Firstborn is an impossibility. Spirits don’t leave ghosts in their wake. Yet Death Wolf has, and hers is colossally powerful. It is a phantasmal thing of lupine aspect, all white fur and ice-blue eyes and snapping jaws. It retains much of its progenitor’s intelligence but is easily driven to cold fury. Like Death Wolf, the ghost is a Rank 7 entity — too powerful to attack directly. Rites, ceremonies, and the destruction of its most powerful ghostly minions might weaken it enough to be vulnerable, or at least to stop the creation of more of its nightmares.

The Great War 402 here long after. The Western Front mutilates France, but is shaped in turn. France has always had a surfeit of werewolves. So many Change here, too many, particularly in the country’s southern reaches. Primal power surges strong in the Uratha of France, and some are so overwhelmed by it they never escape the fury of their First Change. Perhaps Father Wolf made its lair here. Perhaps something else stirs that deep fury, infecting the soil with so much rage that it has to bleed out into the People. The overpopulation leads to regular violence. Pure and Forsaken clash constantly. Sects of Ghost Wolf witches fall into delusions of the Devil, gathering in the shadows. The Western Front pulls them all in and makes a mockery of their feuds and rivalries even as it gives them a new battlefield to kill one another in. Such carnage only stokes the rate of First Changes even further. Innumerable Wolf-Blooded, conscripts and volunteers and civilians alike, spasm with the Warden Moon’s power as all around the shells fall. So many die in their first hours of new existence, breathing their last atop piles of corpses. The nusuzul kill friend and foe alike in their madness. It is a rich harvest of new werewolves, and the Forsaken and Pure compete with each other and with death for who will be the reaper. The casualty rate among the People is horrendous but the sheer rate of new Changes threatens to outpace it. Whatever force stirs this mad fecundity of fury, werewolves scramble to keep up. Grim-faced teams of werewolves secure survivors of the First Change on the front. In no-man’s land, skirmishes break out between Pure and Forsaken over precious nusuzul. These clashes pay no heed to human nationality; German Forsaken fight against German Pure. Baffled trench watchmen stare as notionally friendly patrols tear into each other among the barbed wire, strange shapes flitting through the dark. Something ancient lurks under Paris — an idigam, an earth-bound that evaded the jaws of the Great Predator in times past. It sleeps under a nexus of ley-lines that thread out to ancient dolmens across France, a network of cromlechs that channel the resonance of death to feed its eternal hunger. The High Cromlech lies in a chrysalis of itself, a domain in the Shadow beneath the city, and lies dormant. Now, though, the Western Front floods cromlech lines with so much death that the spirit is not merely fed, but glutted. It begins to wake, threatening a catastrophe upon the Shadow of Paris. A monstrosity of Flesh worms its way under the trenches. The lou carcohl is a leviathan of mucus-slick meat and hollow hunger, larger than a zeppelin, writhing through mud like a fish through water. Long, slimy tentacles lie in ropy tangles, waiting for victims to stumble upon them. Soldiers watch in horror as their comrades are dragged screaming into the ground to be devoured. Even Beshilu gibber and flee from its coming. It is a manifestation of sins long past, and something about the Uratha stirs dim memories in its bestial mind; it craves their flesh most of all. Leashed Hounds and Wild Beasts The Western Front is a local calamity. Territories are reduced to crater-blasted wastelands of trenches and gunfire. Packs whose hunting grounds are not directly wrecked still have to deal with the spiritual filth the front vomits forth. They firefight, trying to stem the tide and hold back the worst of this nightmare. These werewolves venture into no-man’s land. The guise of civilian life makes open access to the battlefront difficult, but such barriers of law and authority are little obstacle to shapeshifters who can move through the Shadow. The physical barriers are trickier — the teeth of barbed wire, the sting of bullets, the utter chaos that has consumed the Shadow. Few packs let this deter them. They hunt dangerous new The High Cromlech The High Cromlech is a Rank 6 idigam with an unusual Essence Shaping power. It has turned itself into a pocket of deep Shadow beneath Paris, accessible through some of the winding tunnels of the catacombs. Within it is an impossible domain of deathly temples and tombs, where ghosts the idigam has trapped within itself are forced into bizarre and nonsensical rites of veneration. If the idigam wakes, it will emerge from the cocoon of this form, but what shape it will take is impossible to predict. Lou Carcohl Tendrils The oozing monstrosity usually remains too deep to be attacked directly; its long tentacles are a threat by themselves. A tentacle is treated as a Size 8 character, and will attempt to grapple targets with a dice pool of 16. Anyone injured must succeed at a Stamina roll or suffer the grave Poisoned Tilt; if the tentacle manages to restrain a victim, it will try to drag them underground over the following two turns. Each tentacle has 15 health and a defense of 3; once ‘killed’ the tentacle is rendered useless or severed. The nauseating, oozing flesh of the lou carcohl quickly dissolves into foul slime after being cut off.

403 Welcome to the Meatgrinder spirits, stalk Beshilu Shards whose power is growing out of control, drain Loci poisoned with tainted energy, and hunt for Wounds that retch hate and contagion into the Shadow. Most avoid the humans bent on murdering each other. Old support networks break. Families and pack members are evacuated away to safer places or, worse, conscripted and sent elsewhere on the front. Loci grow toxic from the slaughter. Simple things like food and clean water grow scarce. Too many Uratha turn to eating the meat of the dead for sustenance. Some are entirely broken by disconnection from their old lives and the endless hammering of the shells; they lose themselves to the desolation, never leaving no-man’s land, becoming wild and living off the corpses of soldiers. The locals must contend with newcomers, the werewolves who march with the armies — Pure and Forsaken alike. Some are genuine patriots, wanting to serve their country as any other warrior might. Many are conscripts, called up by unwitting authorities and unable or unwilling to breach the cover of their human lives. They aren’t all soldiers, though. Wolves in sheep’s clothing stalk the hospitals, tearing Shard-infested husks apart to protect the troops sleeping all around. Canny opportunists thrive in the supply lines, quietly diverting resources to packs and tribe-mates in need. This is a disjointed, strange life for werewolves. Many have left territory and pack far behind. Sometimes several members of a pack end up on the front but scattered across a wide area. Loneliness and isolation are massive problems; werewolves quickly forge strong bonds of camaraderie with the human soldiers around them, becoming dangerously committed to the well-being of their new friends. Pack totems react poorly. Some are infuriated, demanding their werewolves gather together again to preserve the bond of unity. Others panic, or plead, or become obsessed with somehow keeping their favorite Uratha alive in the meatgrinder. Placating totems often involves strange taboos and bans, offerings of food or blood; other soldiers often write these off as superstitious good-luck practices. Worst of all is the rage. When a werewolf loses control, he butchers friend and foe alike. The trenches are an endless source of frustrations — idiots getting their heads blown off, the drumming of shells, the adrenaline of close shaves with bullets, the repulsion of rats everywhere, the mud, the lack of sleep, the shitty food, the utter stench that fills every one of a werewolf’s finely honed senses and can never, ever, be entirely blocked out. When it’s too much, when the fury surges, some werewolves throw themselves into no-man’s land in the hope of death, or at least venting their anger far from their allies. The werewolf who can control his anger is a figure of terror on the battlefield. Mere humans break with trivial ease, while the werewolf shrugs off horrendous wounds. Guns choke, soldiers tear each other apart, and fortified bunkers crack open like eggs before the spirit magic of the People. Sometimes, rarely, a soldier-wolf takes the risk of the killing form, reducing entire trenches to channels of blood. This is always a terrible gamble. Lunacy does not discriminate between targets. It is an existence of conflict — not just physical, but mental and spiritual. The werewolf needs to hunt. He has loyalties and duty to tribe, pack, and comrades. A human officer gives one set of orders; a werewolf officer gives clashing instructions that very definitely have not come down from Joffre and Haig. The fires of conflict between Pure and Forsaken burn so hot that even the enormity of the human war cannot drown them out; packs meet in quiet battles of their own, ambushing each other in the back trenches or out in no-man’s land. The friends and comrades of a werewolf soldier as just as valid targets as he is; breaking a victim’s spirit is the first step toward their defeat, after all. The clashes aren’t always direct confrontations. Ivory Claw officers arrange the execution of a Forsaken’s allies for desertion. A Hunter in Darkness directs artillery crew to strike a ruined woodland where the Predator Kings have built a ritual focus. Packs find their trenches deprived of basic supplies as rivals put pressure on quartermasters and supply lines. Humans die as a result, humans who aren’t even involved. Yet in the face of hundreds of thousands of deaths on the front, few werewolves care about such collateral damage. Killing Grounds In the Shadow, spirits are caught up in the frenzy of war. Broods and choirs rip and tear at one another. Clouds light up in duels among spirits of fire and air. The earth bursts open in eruptions of blood and ephemera. Brief ceasefires leave the spirits glowering at each other. The peace never lasts. Werewolves traversing the Shadow have to avoid being caught up in the brawling spirits. Spindly things of brass and sinew chatter bullets from their long muzzles; lumbering beasts with shells of steel grind along on many massive legs; figures of mud and blood wind and slither on the hunt. Most are too caught up in killing one another to care about the Uratha, but the spirits of gas gleefully murder anything too slow to flee. From time to time, though, a grim silence descends. Lesser spirits flee in terror, all thoughts of war forgotten. Vast choirs of spirits of death gather, and the sky is awash with silver light from the Moon’s descending legions. Often, ranks of werewolves gather to join the clashes that follow. Here, battles are fought between Pure and Forsaken, between Death Wolf and the spirits loyal to her followers, between the Lunes and the grotesque tides of warped horrors that flow from the fresh Wounds in the Shadow. Immense totems of the Pure writhe through the clouds or under the earth, the Anshega howling in their wake. Every ancient feud, every great rivalry among the spirit courts, is indulged in these scenes of pure, open war. The disarray of battle throws old spirit courts and loyalties into chaos. Two great courts maintain their grip on

The Great War 404 vassals and spiritual fiefs, though; indeed, they flourish. The first is the court of the White Reaper, a great alliance of death and emotion. Groaning spirit lords oversee a network of vassals who drain the eruption of death-resonant Loci welling up in no-man’s land, and the broods who tend to the fields of the dying. Many of the Reapers resent the Uratha, but are willing to make deals with the Forsaken — the court seeks to establish order amid the chaos. The second court offers no such compromise, a coalition of spirits of war, terror, pain, and technology. Atop its hierarchy squats the embodiment of the Western Front itself, the war spirit Fields-of-Crimson. Fields-of-Crimson wants this war to never end, and spits fury at the interference of Death Wolf in what it considers to be its own hunting ground. Predators In the face of the Western Front’s callous enormity and grinding monotony, the tribes offer Uratha some overarching sense of purpose and sanity. The Blood Talons’ nature resonates with this war. At the urging of Fenris-Ur’s servants, they treat it as a spiritual journey, a chance to understand the purity and horror of conflict at its most intense. The tribe still persecutes its war against the Pure wherever it can, but the practicalities of reaching the far trenches mean the Blood Talons mostly hunt Pure on their own side. They maneuver against Ivory Claws in the politics of the German officer ranks, and root Fire-Touched infiltrators out of French trenches. The Bone Shadows answer Death Wolf’s call, creating occult confluences to aid their patron in her titanic battle. Elders issue orders to reshape trench formations, anoint salients with the blood of dozens or hundreds of human dead, or kill particular ghosts in no-man’s land. Few ever see Death Wolf, but they can feel her presence all the same. They struggle between duty to their patron and the more traditional duties of the tribe — many feel they should focus on cleansing Wounds and learning about the new spirits that the war gives birth to. Black Wolf howls in the minds of the Hunters in Darkness, outraged by the ruination wreaked by the war. Some give in to despair, seeing no way to protect the few surviving sacred places from the grinding march of war. Others look to new approaches. Mennina infiltrate the ranks of sappers, fortification corps, and planners. They rework the flow of trenches and advances, diverting pushes away from ancient Loci. They hunt, exhausting themselves against a seemingly endless tide of Hosts; the Beshilu seem empowered by the war, rat kings emerging from the muck to spawn more of their kind. The Hunters in Darkness use fire and spirit magic to purge ruined areas anew and prepare the way for rejuvenation once this nightmare is over. The elders plan how the desolation might be sculpted into new territories once the wound has finally sealed. The Iron Masters revel in the opportunities of the front. Prey abounds. Human officers feed the growth of Wounds by throwing their men into the slaughter, cruel sadists indulge themselves in the shadows of trenches and nearby villages,

405 Welcome to the Meatgrinder and men are reduced to mad ghouls in no-man’s land. Some seek to cull the flow of human despair and hatred to protect the Shadow; others just want to experience the challenge and triumph of facing down a tank, or striding through machine-gun fire. Red Wolf watches how her children face down human prey armed with such terrible weapons of war, and Red Wolf learns. For the Storm Lords, the Front is the ultimate crucible to prove their endurance. Simple survival is the goal, for the Iminir who takes on the Western Front and emerges intact is a champion indeed. The Tribe faces no shortage of Claimed, as spirits find humans easy prey with their minds fractured from the war’s relentless pressure. The Tribe hunts men who have become one with the blood and mud of the trenches, ghastly agglomerations of flesh and metal that are the ruinous union of a tank and its crew, and shambling figures whose breath is stinging gas. The Pure pursue their own terrible schemes. The FireTouched brew up new poxes to pour into the trenches, and offer up the deaths of thousands of human soldiers to the Shadow as a sacrament of tainted Essence; their totems, empowered, seek to snare and bind Death Wolf. Through torture and spilled gore, the Ivory Claws harvest the strength and prowess of human and werewolf soldiers alike. Canisters of seething blood, filled with the spiritual puissance of the slaughtered, give the Tribe’s champions brief surges of twisted power. The Predator Kings drag screaming soldiers away as blood sacrifices to ancient forest spirits in spaces beneath no-man’s land; the spirits, Claiming blood-slicked tangles of living wood, reach their tendrils beneath the battlegrounds to pull humanity’s steel engines of war under, and writhe through the walls of dugouts to drip maddening, gory sap into the eyes and mouths of sleeping troops. HEKATONCHIERES The hekatonchieres are blasphemous, spasming creations of Death Wolf’s malevolent ghost. They have no name in the First Tongue. The Shadow reviles them. Each is a mass formed from the dying, mutilated carcasses of werewolves whose last breaths are throttled in the grasp of a slave-ghost. Under the ghost’s baleful will, their flesh knits back together into an amalgamation of meat and muscle and bone. They become gnashing, wailing abominations, war engines mimicking mortal weaponry in cartilage and muscle. The sweet release of death is denied to the tormented soul of the Uratha, and they are instead forced into service. The British Forsaken call hekatonchieres ‘limbjacks’ for their many, twisted legs and arms. The things are huge, tottering along on a forest of twisted wolf-limbs, their warped bodies snapping with angry mouths. Some limbjacks are made from several werewolf and human corpses knotted together; others are just one werewolf, their regeneration gone cancerous and insane. The things lurch along in service to the Firstborn ghost, rising out of the muck on dark nights to stalk their former fellows. Where they fall upon the trenches, men are slaughtered or driven mad. It is a mercy to kill a hekatonchiere. They are creations of this blighted war, and surely have no hope of existence beyond it. Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 6, Resolve 3; Strength 13, Dexterity 3, Stamina 15; Presence 4, Manipulation 1, Composure 2 Skills: Athletics 4, Brawl 4, Firearms 3, Stealth 2 Primal Urge: 5 Willpower: 5 Essence: 15 Size: 11 Health: 26 Initiative: 5 Defense: 7 Speed: 22 Death Rage: A hekatonchiere is constantly locked in hard Death Rage, but is prevented from acting on it due to the influence of a possessing ghost. If the ghost is somehow removed, the hekatonchiere mindlessly rages until it perishes. Flesh Armory: A hekatonchiere sprouts ghastly imitations of the Front’s weapons among its limbs, wrought in cartilage and meat and spitting teeth as bullets. These organic armaments are damage 5, have a range of 100/200/400, an Initiative modifier of −1, and armor piercing 3; they are not only capable of autofire, but are always fired at full burst. The ammunition simply regenerates out of their flesh. Living Carcass: A hekatonchiere is a werewolf, but is unable to change form, even due to Death Rage. It loses all Renown and Gifts, but gains 3 points of armor. It also gains the Juggernaut, Monstrous Resilience, Swift, and Wall Climb Dread Powers. To restore its Essence, a hekatonchiere must consume human flesh. Forest of Limbs: A hekatonchiere is immune to the Arm Wrack and Leg Wrack Tilts due to its sheer number of limbs. The hekatonchiere can at- tack with claws or teeth that deal +4L, have a −1 Initiative modifier, and armor piercing 3. Poison Miasma: Lethal gas flows from a heka- tonchiere’s many mouths, shrouding it in deadly vapor. Characters approaching it must succeed on a Stamina + Primal Urge roll or suffer the moder- ate Poisoned Tilt for the remainder of the scene.

The Great War 406 Geist: A Crisis of Death In a century, the Great War will be celebrated as the time and place where global Sin-Eater culture is born. The Bound had spawned in numbers before, following in the wake of tragedy, but such proliferations were confined to small geographical regions. Groups would form, history would be recorded, but as members passed on and the local death toll was not high enough to bring in replacements, such cultures would gradually fade away. Elsewhere, single Bound accepted their deathly pacts alone, faintly aware of others like them through Underworld stories and perhaps their geist’s nebulous memories, but unable to connect with them. The war changes everything. The Bound are created in unprecedented numbers, not just by gunfire and gas, but by the disease and famine following in their wake. The human masses in the trenches learn to live with death, and Sin-Eaters can hardly help but try to find some way to make it bearable. It’s not just the quantity of Bound that’s new, it’s their diversity. The trenches bring together British colonial troops from Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and New Zealand. The French brought people from their Southeast Asian colonies, West Africa, and more. European racism meant not everyone was allowed to fight, but everyone was allowed to die. Trapped on foreign soil, thousands of miles away from their loved ones, the international dead are as likely as any to rise again with unfinished business. For Sin-Eaters, learning how to respect spiritual beliefs and practices other than their own became an immediate priority. The Bound who fail to adapt often become part of the problem, turning ghost against ghost even on the same side of the trenches. Burdens in War In war, as in peace, people die with business left unfinished. When the dead rise with help of a geist, they are trapped by their Burdens, roaming the fields of the Western Front in hope of some resolution. The Abiding have always sought to leave a mark, but in this endless war real change and progress seem almost hopeless. Some forge plans for victory, determined to see the Allies or the Central Powers triumphant, to feel like all these deaths mean something. Others want to turn the war around, standing defiant against the callous generals who send men to die and building a new world where such atrocities can never be repeated. Still others just want the horrors of the war to be remembered, writing poems, articles, and stories that will be censored by the government when they’re sent back to the home front. He never thought much of his general, and then the man went and got him killed. The remaining men were amazed when their dead officer walked back into the trenches unharmed. They couldn’t see the Revolutionary who hovered behind him, tricolored flag sewn into its skin with thread that still bleeds. Now the geist is helping him plan for victory, though first they will need to rise a few rungs in the chain of command. The Bereaved are almost numberless in the trenches. Some were made there, many are parents, siblings, or lovers who stole their way across countries and continents to search for a soldier who never came back from the war. All of them have reason to roam the Western Front and plumb the depths of the Trenches Beneath, committed to the impossible task of finding one ghost among millions. Her husband left to fight a continent away, and they couldn’t even send her back his corpse. She traveled to Meerut by herself and found passage to the fields of France. The Burning Bride followed her, a red-clad geist with feet facing backward, and offered the Bargain when she died of hunger. They’re both still searching for their husbands, taking names and messages from the Indian dead to bring back home when the war is over. The Hungry just want to get home. They are dead and wanting for the memory of long walks down country roads, for white Christmases, trips to the market, brandnew bicycles they never even got to ride. For many, the homes they long for don’t even exist anymore, torn apart by invading soldiers or bombed from above. Some cling to what little they have left, others give everything they have in hopes that someone, anyone can lead a good life after all of this. In a bar of chocolate or a half-smoked cigarette, the Hungry can lose themselves for a few minutes in longing for a happiness that might be as dead as they are. They called the battle where he died the Massacre of the Innocents, where thousands of newly recruited German soldiers were sent to their deaths before even learning how to fight. He’d lied about his age to enlist, and spent the whole battle crying. The Murdered Angel took pity on the boy, standing above him in an old-fashioned nurse’s dress with bullet holes instead of eyes. Now, as one of the Bound, at least he can live to see his sixteenth birthday. The Kindly have found it easy to commit atrocities. Many of them are soldiers who left home as boys and grew into men in the trenches. Now they see the faces of the people they’ve killed at night, and find only innocents dragged into war. Others were beastly long before they made it into battle, and look back on misspent youths as petty bullies wishing they could have left a better legacy. Many of the Kindly become staunch pacifists, smuggling the living and the dead away from the trenches, or searching for some nonviolent means of ending the war. He’s the first to admit, he was a bit of a cad back in university. He cheated on tests and on women, made sport of his roommates, and lounged in the certainty of his parents’ money. A bombing raid killed him anyway, zeppelins didn’t care if you were rich or poor. The Parisian Mistress is a whisper of a woman made of shadow and smoke, a mocking match to his own wickedness. With her in his heart, he volunteered for British Intelligence, where his businessman father’s public neutrality serves as the perfect cover for spy work.

407 Welcome to the Meatgrinder The Vengeful have a plethora of people to blame for their deaths: the enemy, their own generals, the person who talked them into enlisting, the triage nurse who let them die. Some just come to despise death itself, and the Underworld that defines it. Many weren’t even soldiers; doctors, journalists, and ordinary men and women are caught up in the fighting, raging at an unfair and unexpected demise. The Vengeful find no shortage of allies in the trenches, with the living and the dead alike eager to hurt someone in recompense for what they have suffered. They killed her daughter. German soldiers, invading her home in neutral Belgium for no good reason at all, they killed her daughter just for standing in their way. They killed her next, but she wouldn’t stay down. The Boy in the Well has eyes like puddles, endlessly leaking down his bloated face. He wants revenge, too, though he can’t remember why, and she promises him they’ll both have it as he brings her back. A Haunting of Sin-Eaters In New Orleans, small coalitions of Sin-Eaters have been using the word “krewe” to describe themselves for about half a century, though the most famous krewe has yet to be founded. When they finally enter the Great War, black Americans will bring the term with them, but in 1914 it’s largely unheard of, and new Sin-Eaters have no historical precedents to fall back on for names and terminology. Some British Sin-Eaters are calling their groups “hauntings” or “seances,” a wry nod to Victorian spiritualism. German groups often call themselves “regiments,” and “régiment” is popular among the French as well, while civilians from all countries often prefer “church” or “parish” to describe those who share their syncretic beliefs. Territorial troops bring their own vocabulary to the field, complicating things further. In mixed company, simple terms like “group” or “gathering” are usually safe. Like the terminology, the types of krewes that develop are hardly uniform yet, but patterns are emerging. Sin-Eaters can hardly help but meet along the Western Front, so great are their numbers, and when they come together and bond over a shared need or philosophy, krewes begin to form by instinct, if not by design. Furies The greatest injustice of the era is plain to see, but what to do about it is a lot more confusing. Patriots on both sides of the conflict form congregations devoted to striking down the enemy, discovering new ways to use the dead to win the war. Others are more interested in going up against their own governments, the real perpetrators in the eyes of many average soldiers. The rise of the Soviet Union sparks a rise in the latter midway through the war, turning trench proselytizers into undead revolutionaries. Most Furies are more than happy to welcome other supernatural creatures to their cause, especially as the line between “violence” and “justice” becomes blurred by the dust and mud of endless trench warfare. Mourners There is so, so much to mourn in the Great War. SinEaters gather lists of the dead, or help the departed write one last letter to the people back home. Groups form out of necessity: One soldier going on leave takes home the tangible memories gathered by all his Bound friends, another does the same a few months later. In teams, they venture more safely into the Trenches Beneath, bringing back the history of places and people the war has destroyed. With so much to do, the Mourners of the Great War need all the help they can get: human, ghost, or otherwise. Necropolitans Some Sin-Eaters look into the eyes of despair and decide to grin, holding onto every last shred of joy that much tighter. The Necropolitans build communities in the trenches, spreading gallows humor and what few creature comforts they can find: smuggled French wine, a cigarette, a box of candies sent from home. Many are shockingly open-minded, welcoming colonial troops into their fold and swapping stories in pidgin languages. They’re just as happy to drink with the poor sods on the other side of the battlefield, living or dead, and even other supernatural creatures aren’t alien enough to make them blink. Pilgrims The Great War causes many people to reject organized religion entirely, but some people cling to it. To the Pilgrims on Living with the Dead In the trenches, everyone has a ghost over their shoulder. Along the front lines there’s no easy way to dispose of the dead, or sometimes even to reach them. Bodies are left to rot in no-man’s land, or buried in shallow, muddy graves. The trenches are lined with corpses and, incredibly, people get used to it. One soldier famously recounts a hand sticking out of a wall that everyone would stop and shake for luck. Ghost stories are hardly the most interesting thing to happen to anyone lately, and many soldiers have seen things far more frightening than the specter of a dead friend. In such conditions, pockets of the Western Front acknowledge the dead openly. Not everyone can see them, but everyone knows they’re real, and trust their Sin-Eaters to convey messages back and forth. The humans among such krewes are often quite welcoming of other supernatural phenomena: if ghosts are real, and they’re friendly, then sure, why not werewolves?

The Great War 408 the front lines, the Trenches Beneath seem more enticing than the trenches above. Sure, there’s danger, but there’s also order, law, clear paths to take and goals to reach. Groups of Pilgrims form basic religions or philosophies around their exploration, to justify and to reassure. The Underworld, and guiding the dead, gives them purpose amid the desperate monotony of the war. At their best, they become welcoming guides and doctors to the dead, at their worst they claim ownership over parts of the Trenches Beneath and force rules upon those who would trespass with as much zeal as any Kerberos. Undertakers The first global war is a mire of cultures and religions. Soldiers are Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Sikh, raised in the traditions of myriad Canadian Aboriginal or African beliefs, or endless other options from countries, cities, and villages with their own syncretic quirks. Undertakers try to reconcile these differences, or get together to help people move on in countless different ways. Sin-Eaters from around the world begin to share notes, and take them, learning new ways to perceive and understand death. Making death painless and kind is still a pipe dream for most, but some ambitious groups of Undertakers are already imagining how the lessons of the Great War can make way for a better world when the fighting finally ends. Power from Death The dead are more than just casualties in the Great War, they’re a source of power. The boundless deathly energy of the front lines creates Mementos, easily spotted by the Bound but so numerous that some inevitably fall into the hands of the uninitiated. Elsewhere, not every living general and commander is ignorant of the supernatural, even if none of them understand its full extent. Human necromancers delve deep into the history books for Rituals that could give their country an advantage, or enlist the Bound to create new ways to weaponize death. The Last Letters Key: Chance Description: A rusted cigar tin filled with letters from the front, the Last Letters became a Memento after every soldier who wrote for it died in one assault. A krewe of French Mourners guards it fiercely for its effect but might be talked into loaning it out to someone in need. Effect: A letter taken at random from the tin will always be from a deceased loved one of the person who pulled it, written shortly before their death. The letter is addressed to the person who used the tin, and the writer often seems to have some sense of their own mortality, and takes a minute to include thoughts they’d otherwise regret never putting into words. The First Tank Key: Blood Description: In 1915, the Landship Committee was formed in Britain, with the goal of developing armored fighting vehicles for use on the Western Front. By September, they had Little Willie, the first working tank prototype. It wasn’t until the Mark I tanks were sent into combat at Battle of Flers–Courcelette that Little Willie became a Memento, a symbol of the newly unleashed tool of slaughter. Little Willie is still in England; no Bound has yet gotten close enough to recognize its exceptional properties. Effect: Despite being a prototype missing some of its engine parts, anyone dead (including the Bound, and some Prometheans) can operate the tank as if it were fully functional. Like all Mementos, Little Willie is impossibly durable, and exists simultaneously in the living world and in Twilight. Its wheels, walls, and any guns mounted onto it work just as well on ghosts and other spirits as they do on living beings. The Gas-Bone Plague (Ceremony ••••) The Great War marks the first large scale use of chemical weapons. In Germany, a chemist who fell to one of his own experiments rose again as one of the Bound. Away from the prying eyes of his commanders, he began experimenting with new ways to use chemicals and the dead in war. The Ceremony he invented turns a ghost into a weapon, allowing it to animate its old corpse and melting its bones into a potent gas weapon. The gas-bone corpse is usually commanded to run toward the enemy immediately, as once the ritual is complete it’s a matter of minutes before its effects render movement impossible. As it runs, the gas flows out of its open wounds and orifices, noxious green and clearly chthonic to anyone who can sense deathly energy. Subject: One willing ghost, killed by a chemical weapon, and its corpse. Duration: Until the corpse is destroyed, usually one scene. Symbols: A used gas mask, an expired chemical weapon canister, a copper needle, thread treated with chlorine and sulfur. Ritual: Sew the gas mask onto the corpse’s face while the ghost watches, cut new wounds along its arms. Embed the canister in its stomach and sew the opening shut, ending the Ceremony by cutting the thread. Dice Pool: Intelligence + Medicine Success: The ghost is pulled into the corpse, able to move freely until its bones are completely dissolved. Gas begins seeping out after one minute, causing the grave Poisoned Tilt (see Chronicles of Darkness p. 286) upon exposure, or Toxicity 3 repeated once per minute if outside of combat. Once the ceremony ends, the ghost may no longer use any portion of its corpse as an Anchor.

409 Welcome to the Meatgrinder The Trenches Beneath the World Along the Western Front, the Upper Reaches of the Underworld are filled with fresh ruins, battlefields, and mazes of trenches and shell holes that stretch up and out with no end in sight. Avernian Gates abound, called forth by battlefield and burial ground alike, some with keys any poor soldier could stumble across by accident. Sin-Eaters of the Great War often call their local Underworld the Trenches Beneath, a euphemistic reminder that the war has its talons in the realm of the dead as well as that of the living. The Bridge Gate When Germany invaded Belgium, civilians retaliated by destroying their own country’s infrastructure before the enemy army could arrive and conquer it. In frustration and rage, junior officers would sometimes react by rounding up and shooting the civilians they thought responsible, and anyone else who got in the way. On the site of one such slaughter, the broken bridge that prompted it remains in Twilight, an unusually large Avernian Gate that arcs above a small stream. Its key is a piece of brick from the original bridge, much of which was carted away to make fortifications. Its guardian geist is the Defiant Innocent, a featureless woman in a blood-soaked Flemish dress who is fiercely distrustful of outsiders. Perhaps because of its size, or the flow of water, the Bridge Gate opens unusually deep in the Underworld and can be used to reach the Acheron river without the need for a navigation roll to avoid getting lost. The Noël Gate In the winter of 1914, something miraculous happened: troops from both sides of the Great War laid down their arms and celebrated Christmas together. Such truces occurred sporadically along the Western Front, allowing soldiers a chance to celebrate, exchange gifts, and bury their dead. In Hauts-de-France, one such Christmas graveyard spawned an Avernian Gate between the trench lines. To those who can see it, the gate is made of interwoven fir branches and human Bound Demiurge? Disgusted Sin-Eaters would love to get their hands on the gas-bone chemist, but so would the Faceless Prometheans. His work with the corpses of those who died to chemical warfare is hauntingly familiar, and not broadly shared. Could he be their Lineage’s true demiurge, accidentally creating new life out of his experiments with death? Or perhaps he merely shared his work with someone else, who became inspired by the Divine Fire to take it in a different direction. Whatever the case, most Faceless who hear about the German chemist and his work would like to ask him a few questions.

The Great War 410 bones, decorated with spent cartridge shells and candles. Its key is the blood of two soldiers from opposite sides of a conflict, willingly spilled at its doorstep. Beyond it lies an eerily silent, snow-covered field, one of the most peaceful spots on the Western Front on either side of the veil. Many ghosts still linger here, forming a rough community that shares sustenance and companionship as they await the end of the war. No Dominion or Upper Reaches settlement has yet made contact with the field, but as dead soldiers venture further into the Underworld in search of Essence, it’s only a matter of time until the Noël community is dragged into River City politics. Strangely, no geist guards this gate, making it an unusually tempting place for Reapers to pass through. La Terre Des Héros From the Avernian Gates of France, finding this relatively new Dominion is not difficult, just a quick trip down the river. La Terre is set out like a Napoleonic army camp, with tents and barracks and training fields. Most of its citizens are soldiers from that war and are convinced the Kerberos who rules them is some very important general, or even Napoleon himself. Aside from its population of loyal French soldiers, La Terre collects the ghosts of great military minds like other Dominions collect treasures and secrets. The prison camp at its center contains dozens of captured officers, from the first casualties of the Great War back as far as the crusades. The highest ranked of La Terre’s soldiers interrogate these prisoners with inventive tortures, demanding military secrets from the newest and assaulting the oldest purely for the amusement of watching them scream. Laws Rules governing La Terre are strict and numerous. Each citizen has a copy of Les Reglements, a military-style handbook that details the Old Laws of the Dominion, and the Gatekeeper ghost offers a copy to travelers as well. Residents must walk in specific formations based on rank, and obey any order given in the correct format. Training drills are mandatory, and talk of sedition is prohibited. Any visitor without a well-maintained Napoleonic-era French military uniform is already in violation of La Terre’s Old Laws, and will be dealt with accordingly. L’Empereur The Kerberos who rules La Terre is a shifting mass of medals and armaments topped with a crowned helmet. He rules from a tent made of gold cloth on a hill at the back of the Dominion, but patrols regularly for the “morale” of his citizens. L’Empereur does not wage war against other Dominions, but he keeps his troops in a state of constant readiness for some future conflict he refuses to discuss. Lawbreakers are chased down with the assistance of his loyal troops, then confined to the prison camps to be tortured until they can provide at least one new piece of military intelligence to the Dominion. LE GENERAL Quote: “To arms, citizens!” Background: Guillaume Bessières was a colonel in the Napoleonic army, competent but not exceptional in his position. He was shot in combat, and died slowly from infection over the next several weeks. As he contemplated death, he found solace in patriotism, and died with the very concept of a free France as an Anchor. Once pulled into the Underworld, Bessières formed a makeshift battalion out of other French soldiers, insisting they maintain proper military order despite the inconvenient setback of death. The whole group eventually found their way to the newly founded La Terre, which Bessières had imagined as some sort of promised land the moment he heard rumors of it. The Dominion treated him well, and L’Empereur himself presented the man with the rank of general and the old knight’s helmet that would serve as his Deathmask. Description: Bessières is a short man in his 30s, still wearing his officer’s uniform from his time with the Napoleonic army. His shoulder and left arm are gangrenous, and the rest of his complexion is dull and pale. Wearing his Deathmask, the Knight’s Crown, transforms him into Le Général: ornately armored and carried by a black stallion that is a part of his ghostly corpus. Engulfed ghosts are bound head to toe in steel chain, which is then dragged behind the steed as he returns to the Underworld. Storytelling Hints: Bessières is deeply loyal to the Kerberos he serves, and believes he is following L’Empereur’s wishes in guiding the troops of La Terre to torture and collect. He is at least partially mistaken: L’Empereur isn’t human enough to care what happens to the military minds he hoards, and Bessières’ obsessive need for military order influenced La Terre’s current situation just as much as the Kerberos’ nature. Virtue: Loyal (Bessières would never willingly betray the Kerberos, even if faced with the possibility of absolute destruction.) Vice: Cruel (This spirit has a sadistic nature and enjoys watching his master’s enemies suffer.) Aspiration: Make La Terre the most respected Dominion in the Underworld. Rank: 2/4 Attributes: Power 6/12, Finesse 5/8, Resistance 3/10 Influence: French Patriotism 2, Blood 2 Corpus: 8/15 Willpower: 8/18 Size: 5 Speed: 16/25 Defense: 5/8

411 Welcome to the Meatgrinder Initiative: 8/18 Numina: Awe, Blast, Drain, Implant Mission, Seek, Rapture, Engulf, Descend Manifestations: Twilight Form, Image, Materialize, Avernian Gateway Essence: 15/25 Ban: Bessières cannot disobey a legal order from a currently serving French army officer. As Le Général, he is banished to the Underworld if he spills the blood of a French national who has never done him harm. Bane: Musket balls. As Le Général, the sound of a field trumpet that was present at the Battle of Waterloo. Promethean: Conscripts of Clay In the Great War, the imperatives of life change for everyone. Supply and manpower become the vital lifeblood of nations who are throwing everything they possibly can at their enemies. World-spanning empires are stripped of their resources both natural and human to feed the leviathan of war wrapping itself around the world. The belligerents in this conflict seek any advantage they can find. It is unsurprising so many of the Created were drawn like moths to the lamplights of the trenches. Within that vile space, the subtle masks of humanity strip away. The gentle mien of society and everyday life tears asunder in a world of extremes and the color of human experience boils down to the black and white of life and death. The Western Front plays host to many a Promethean seeking out the truth on her Pilgrimage. Though it’s rare and wildly difficult, some scientists are able to create new lives to feed into the grinder. The prospect of constructed soldiers is attractive to the states of the time. Imagine, fresh troops who will never tire and, in the hopes of some scientists, will never rebel or know fear. Imagine, an inexhaustible supply of manpower forged from the flesh of the fallen and the mud in which they are, nameless, buried. Of course, creating such lives is easier said than done, and almost all turn out to be autonomous. Among those Created born into this hell is the lost Lineage of the Faceless. They are tragedy given form and purpose, animated amalgams of caked mud, chemical ruin, and the mottled remains of the dead. Their identities lost amid a sea of conflicting memories from the many dead within them and the everlasting pain of their chemically burning hearts, they rejoin the fray with untold vigor. All the while, Muses spur their charges on to ever more grand creation. Large numbers of Unfleshed and Tammuz are brought to being in this time, another way for war to be waged, supplies to be delivered and trenches to be dug. Fate of the Faceless As the Great War winds down, the conditions of the Faceless’ creation come to an end. Not only that, but the purpose for which they were created does the same. The Torment created by this abandonment drives many of them mad and turns the former battlefields into a Wasteland. In the ensuing Firestorm, many Faceless allow themselves to be destroyed or walk into the roiling sea to be eroded by time and tide. A scant few forsake the name of their Lineage and go into solitude. The shame of the acts they carry out in their time on the Western Front are consigned to history with their name. Most that remain identify themselves as Extempore. The Firestorm that consumes the main bulk of the Lineage seems like a vile gas attack, since Faceless are forged not from elements of nature but the cruel, factory-created humours of death-dealing machines. The earthquakes that come are the rumbling of exploding shells. Several of the Faceless themselves burst in angry clouds of smoke and chlorine, swamping any who stand near and burning any vegetation in their passing. Those who remain hurl themselves into the sea, making it unclear if they survive or not. Like the prophesied end to all wars, the Faceless wish to be forgotten. To become as inert and obsolete as the bombs and guns that birthed them. They come to the collective belief that in an era of peace there is simply no need for them to exist, and they cannot deny that somewhere in their agonized and burning hearts they can’t stand the thought of the war coming to a close. They are tied to the constant struggle, the theater of death and decay in which their heinous acts and monstrous drives seem human and realistic. The thought of men returning to their farms and sowing crops, of women departing the bloody surgeries and sewing fabric instead of flesh, it brings their own disgusting nature into sharp focus. They are not like the others, not created to be like man in any other aspect other than violence, war, and destruction. That era must now end and end forever. Their sacrifice could be said to be noble. Perhaps some even found fulfilment in that last, terrifying moment when they resolved to give up their mockery of life for a greater good. Is that the humanity they were forced to seek after all? That when the weapons of war themselves rebel and put themselves beyond use, therein is the lesson for mankind? Such philosophical discussions are for the history books. Even if a Faceless exists in modern times, he would simply speak as did one of their number to Otto. They are merely another face in the crowd. They are merely one of millions. Rampaging Faceless Exploding from the trenches opposite, a line of soldiers rises in a charge. As machine-gun fire cuts down men left and right, one huge soldier holds his stride. As the shape bears down on the protagonists’ position, they can see clearly it is a bizarre, golem-like created in the throes of fury.

The Great War 412 Balefire burns behind its eyes as it cries tears of chemical yellow. Its battle cry shrinks even the toughest men in the trench who recoil, watching their fire glance ineffectively off its hide of rock-hard mud. With a glance to the other members of the throng, it is clear to see if this Created cannot be calmed it must be brought down. With immense strength, it lifts the first man it encounters clean off the ground, impaled on its bayoneted rifle which seems laughably small in its oversized hands. Tossing him aside, it turns to the first member of the throng and roars a challenge, barreling forward with its fists clenched to strike. FRENZIED FACELESS The Faceless is overwhelmed by the pain inside it and driven to go down in a blaze of glorious, alchemical fire. It has the following stats: Lineage: Faceless Refinement: Stannum Attributes: Intelligence 2, Wits 3, Resolve 4; Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4; Presence 2, Manipulation 1, Composure 3 Morale Points Soldiers around the protagonists have a total of up to 10 morale points at the start of a chronicle set in the Great War. Created can work to increase or decrease them in any way they wish, the more creative, the better. However, if the number reaches zero, the men desert their position en masse, succumb to shell shock, or run to greet the hail of machine-gun fire. Drops in morale lead to executions for desertion and, likely, an imminent push from the enemy as word spreads of the dissent among the soldiery. This forms the backdrop to any chronicle on the frontlines. Morale can be tracked using this scale and has the following effects on the mortal soldiery: 10 — Spirits are high and the soldiery are filled with national pride. They regularly can be heard calling to each other, extolling the virtues of their cause. Composure-based rolls gain one extra die and have one automatic success. 9 — Despite exposure to some of the terrors of the war, the soldiers remain upbeat and positive about their chances. They know that victory is just one push away. Add one die to Composure based rolls. 8/7 — The hard slog in the trenches is beginning to take its toll. These soldiers keep their spirits up by talking about their home life and what they have to look forward to after triumph. Occasionally, they can be heard crying when they think nobody else can hear. No mechanical benefit. 6 — The initial signs of shell shock and fatigue show on the pale faces of these battle-hardened soldiers. They tend to avoid conversation with those fresh-faced recruits who they have seen die on many occasions. Subtract one die from Social rolls. 5/4 — Months of fighting and horrific conditions have tested the minds of these soldiers to the limit. They occasionally laugh at nothing and offer only black humor to their comrades as comfort. Subtract two dice from Social rolls. 3/2 — Mad-eyed and with a tendency to snap at those who try to boost their spirits, the veterans of the trench often find themselves sapped of morale, with only the grim hope of survival to sustain them. They are malnourished, psychologically broken, and desperate. Subtract two dice from Social rolls, −1 to Physical Attributes due to starvation. 1 — Soldiers at this level are at their wits’ end. They are suicidal and their courage hangs by a thread. They speak of attacking the enemy trenches, not with determination, but with hope that their enemies will end their suffering with a merciful bullet. Subtract two dice from Social rolls, −2 to Physical Attributes, −1 to Composure. 0 — This soldier is a mere shell, shattered both mentally and physically. Desertion is a certainty, the firing squad that awaits those deserters who are caught is almost as welcome to them as freedom. All Social Attributes and Composure reduced to 0, the soldier will simply attempt to flee by any means neces- sary and kill anyone who tries to stop them.

413 Welcome to the Meatgrinder Skills: Athletics 3, Brawl 3, Firearms 1, Weaponry 2; Intimidation 4 Willpower: 7 Pilgrimage: 2 Elpis: Fury Torment: Obsession Initiative: 6 Defense: 6 Size: 6 Speed: 12 Health: 10 Azoth: 3 Pyros/Turn: 12/3 Bestowment: Living Wall Transmutations: Assault (Disquiet), Shock (Electrification) If the protagonists successfully bring down the Faceless, they will be visited the next night by another of their number, calmer and more withdrawn. She apologizes to them for being unable to prevent her compatriot from bursting toward them and advises them she is leaving the trenches to find what more there is to life than this. If they ask for her Lineage, she will say she is Extempore. Spoils of War The protagonists encounter a German Osiran called Gerda who is trying to salvage an artifact from a church in no-man’s land. She claims to have the means to extract them from the front should they wish at a later time and can also smuggle in rations and supplies to their position with which they can barter. For this service, she enlists their aid in getting her to the church and back safely with whatever it is she is to find there. When questioned about the nature of the artifact she only reveals snippets of information, repeatedly informing the protagonists, whatever it is, it is far too important to her to risk telling them about. If pushed, she becomes frustrated and indicates she is prepared to go without their help, though she’d much rather not. Gerda leads them through the cratered remains of the front. Water-filled holes dot the landscape and clouds of poisoned gas hang in the air. Here and there, soldiers of either side can be seen trying vainly to crawl back to their trench in random directions, most with grievous, mortal wounds. This provides an opportunity for Created with a bent toward humanity to offer what aid they can and potentially save a life. For her part, Gerda is keen to hurry on but looks upon the wounded with compassion and genuine sadness at their situation. The village is occupied by a small group of French fanatics who are awaiting God’s judgment on the people who destroyed their home. When spying any of the Created in uniform, they immediately attack them with hodgepodge weapons they have scavenged from fallen soldiers. Once they are overcome, Gerda moves immediately into the basement of the church to claim her prize and returns carrying a young girl in her arms. She informs the party this is Marion du Trouelles, a chess prodigy and mathematical genius. When she heard her village had been caught in the front, she allocated all of her resources to tracking her down. Though rumors from prisoners of war, as well as patrols who had come near the village and been fired upon, a young girl matching her description had been seen with the men holed up in the village. During this explanation, the shelling of the area around the village will resume. Protagonists have the choice to evacuate and flee back to the trench line or try to hunker down in the village. Gerda’s choice will be to flee across the field and toward the German line which, she hopes, is the source of the shelling. Roll a die for each turn as the throng retreats, on a roll of 1, a shell bursts near them and everyone must make Stamina + Resolve rolls. Gerda rolls five dice and has a Health of 7, Marion rolls three dice and has a Health of 4. If Marion dies, Gerda immediately descends into Torment, which the throng can attempt to counter. If the party succeeds in bringing Marion into the German lines, Gerda makes good on her word to either transport them from the front or provide them with frequent smuggled shipments of rations and supplies over the course of the next few weeks. This includes ammunition and other sundry materials, such as books or even records Gerda could feasibly acquire in Germany. Specialist weapons cannot be provided by her. A newspaper article comes through in the next few weeks indicating Marion has won a chess tournament in Berlin. DR. HEINRICH FUCHS The research into chemical weapons conducted by both sides in the war brings many who would have been drummed out of the scientific community in more rational times to the fore. One such man is Dr. Heinrich Fuchs. Dr. Fuchs is a bizarre mix of occultist and chemist. In his younger years he put his mind to discovering the secret of eternal life. After traveling far, gaining the knowledge of many mystics and seers, and gathering the proper ingredients, Dr. Fuchs tested his potions on vagrants, desperate for quick, easy money. Unfortunately, those he “treated” had a habit of dying shortly afterward. If they were lucky, their deaths would be quick and painless. However, word quickly spread about the man’s heinous experiments and the supply of willing volunteers quickly dried up, as did academic interest. Indeed, only the authorities grew truly interested in him.

The Great War 414 Before his arrest, Dr. Fuchs tested his last formula on himself. He was certain this was the one that would grant him immortality and, if not, he was prepared to die rather than spend years locked away from his precious work. Although he believes the potion did award him with immortality, it also aged him physically, leaving him wizened and gnarled like an old tree stump, with wiry, pure white hair jutting from his balding scalp. Though only in his 40s, Fuchs appears to be a much older man. His jailing did not last long as his reputation with chemicals brought him to the attention of some of the more unscrupulous elements in the Reich. With the discovery of the Faceless Prometheans, Dr. Fuchs now thinks he has found not only the perfect ingredient for weapons of war in Pyros, but that he has finally discovered the key to his own immortality. Fuchs put out notice to capture as many Created as can be found for him to continue his work and, with enough Prometheans on his slab, he can uncover the secrets to harness the power of Azoth into unstoppable weaponry. To that end, he develops a new gas, one that affects man and Created alike. “I envy you, creature. If only all the world could be as you are.” Virtue: Driven (Dr. Fuchs is a man with a goal, and nothing will stop him from achieving it.) Vice: Immoral (Heinrich has little regard for what is ethical, if it advances his plots.) Attributes: Intelligence 5, Wits 3, Resolve 3, Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Presence: 2, Manipulation 3, Composure 4 Skills: Academics (Military Tactics) 4, Crafts (Metalwork) 3, Investigation (Research) 4, Medicine (Human Anatomy) 4, Occult (Promethean Alchemy) 2, Science (Chemistry) 4; Brawl 1, Firearms 1, Weaponry 1, Stealth (Hide) 2; Empathy 2, Expression 2, Intimidation 1, Persuasion 3, Socialize 1 Merits: Contacts (State Employed Chemists) 3, Language (Latin, English, Chinese, Greek), Resources 1, Status (German Reich) 2 Magnitude: 3 Willpower: 7 Integrity: 7 Torment: Obsession Initiative: 8 Defense: 3 Size: 5 Speed: 6 Health: 7 Pyros/Turn: 7/1 Distillations: Alchemicus (Stone), Aqua Regia (Decay), Mesmerism (Lure) Dread Powers: The Fog The Fog: Dr. Fuchs smashes a glass cylinder on the floor releasing the fog, which expands to a cloud 30 feet in diameter. Fuchs has immunized himself against its effects. The mad doctor’s design rots and decays any object with which it comes into contact. Metal rusts, leather corrodes, wood splinters and falls to ash. This al- lows it to kill through gas masks, but it also allows it to penetrate to the heart of a Promethean. Mortal victims suffer 1 point of aggravated damage per turn and gain the Grave Poisoned Tilt (see Chronicles of Darkness p. 93) until treated with the antidote, which only Fuchs possesses. The fog not only asphyxiates them but corrodes their skin and if they are killed by the fog, it destroys their cadaver, leaving only a sizzling pool of chemicals behind. Prometheans caught in the fog must make a Stamina + Resolve roll. If they fail, the chemical reacts with their Pyros and they become Poisoned (Grave) for the remainder of the scene. Ageless Elixir: If taking heavy damage (reduced to 1 or 2 Health), Dr. Fuchs may quaff a phial of the Ageless Elixir, even during another player’s turn. When he does so, roll a die and consult the following table: Result Effect 1 Dr. Fuchs ages so rapidly his body rapidly decomposes, and he falls to ash 2 Dr. Fuchs regains 1 Health but loses 1 dot from each Physical Attribute and appears to age rapidly 3 Dr. Fuchs regains 1 Health and ages rap- idly, his Speed is halved 4 Dr. Fuchs regains 2 Health and ages rapidly, his Speed is halved 5 Dr. Fuchs regains 2 Health and his hair falls out leaving him completely bald 6 Dr. Fuchs regains 2 Health 7 Dr. Fuchs regains 2 Health and gains 1 dot in Stamina 8 Dr. Fuchs regains 3 Health and gains 1 dot in Stamina 9 Dr. Fuchs regains 3 Health and gains 1 dot in each Physical Attribute 10 Dr. Fuchs regains all lost Health and grows young and vital. He gains 1 dot in each Physical Attribute and a point in Presence Storytelling Hints: Dr. Fuchs is maniacal beyond repair, a truly tragic creature in the Shakespearean mode. He is consumed with nothing but his work, which is his justification to disregard any moral safeguard or reprimand of his

415 Welcome to the Meatgrinder lack of humanity. He cannot be reasoned with. When it appears he is listening it will simply be to take advantage over an unwitting mark. To his mind, the all-consuming conquest of death is the greatest honor mankind can achieve. If death is banished, how then can there even be war? What use then for weapons? When confronted with overwhelming physical force, Dr. Fuchs instantly deploys the Fog. He has immunized himself to it but will sacrifice even those working for or with him if he feels it will save his own skin from being captured. This, to a fault, is his character. He mocks the idea of obsession with saving humans from their slow march to death but it is himself he truly wishes to save. Any Prometheans he captures will be immediately taken for study. Be sure to describe his religious reverence of them. He truly desires for humans to be more like them, to shed the weakness of their frail flesh and embrace the wonders that science unbound can bestow upon them. He carves at them as nonchalantly as carving a roast. He sees them at once as a great achievement and as automatons lacking the vital spark of humanity. Only by combining their anima, the essence of their machinery, with his genius will they be truly whole, and he whole in them. It is unlikely he will outright kill a Promethean deliberately, but his understanding of their unique physiology is limited. Storytellers should take discretion with how much damage he might inflict upon them while experimenting and give other protagonists a chance to ride to the rescue before killing off someone captured. Giving the character of Fuchs the chance to exposit his bizarre manifesto to a helpless Promethean could form a strange step forward in their own Pilgrimage if played correctly, though suffering bears no guarantee of leading to enlightenment. Created Conscripts The Lineages take differing views of the slaughter that is the Great War, each seeking to add it to their Pilgrimages in the best way they can. The Frankensteins seek to test the limits of not only their bodies, but their minds. More than any other Lineage, they embrace the madness of the frontlines. Those pursuing the refinements of Ferrum and Stannum are drawn in to the carnage. Fighting for their national cause, the unit of men who they signed up with, to protect the land of the family who took them in, or possibly to protect the family themselves as they flee the destruction of their livelihood. Galateids find this time to be one of incredible opportunity and exploration. The limits of human science are pushed as belligerent nations look for efficient ways to destroy each other. Meanwhile, stars of stage and screen are flown in from all over the world to entertain the troops and keep up fractured morale, inspiring the Muses to seek out those who need solace in the trenches and in the field hospitals. Osirans are not drawn to the conflict in the same way as other Created. The disruption the Great War causes among academia and high society all but confounds their efforts across the globe. With all thought bent toward winning the war, it leaves little time or funding for more cerebral pursuits. However, it does provide those with an alchemical leaning a chance to experiment with their latest concoctions. Osirans following the Refinement of Mercurius are among those who bring the advent of chemical warfare to the Western Front and continue to refine their methods both to penetrate contemporary gas masks and to produce healing potions that they can use to recruit the worthy wounded to their aid. The trench lines are a second home to the Tammuz and they find joy in the endless work on the front and elsewhere. The Named can be found running messages from post to post, digging new fortifications or lugging heavy crates of ammunition through seemingly impassable terrain. The endless grind is a strange joy to them and gives them the purpose they so crave. Many throngs are formed through chance meetings in the trenches and any alchemical pact formed in this hellscape will contain at least one Tammuz. Ulgan find interest in the passing of so many souls and those studying the Refinement of Argentum will be drawn to those who seem so interested in interacting with them as such. The sheer amount of death is a spiritual stain crossing the divides and thresholds separating worlds, and the Riven sense this more than any other as the ectoplasm in their hearts resonates with each new atrocity. If there is anywhere a Created could come to understand the spiritual it is here. Built for purpose, Unfleshed form elite units within both armies, designed to seek out priority targets or gather intelligence. Exposure to so much naked human experience causes them to question the orders of their creators time and again, leading their creators to question their own genius in creating something so… “alive.” While most of the Manufactured in this era are newly constructed, it is an era of great discovery for them and can be marked as the genesis of many Pilgrimages for their number. Their cold, callous nature is also found as the thinking machines behind many of the bloodthirsty tactics and strategies employed by the command of the armies. While Faceless will go on to adopt the title themselves, Extempore of other kinds are not rare among the front lines. Some hardy sorts seeking adventure and swept up in the nationalistic pride of the occasion are first to arrive, followed by those seeking a grim and stark reality of human experience. When encountering other Created, the Extempore often attempt to conceal their nature if they can. Most seem content to avoid contact and pursue their personal Pilgrimage. However, those following the Refinement of Argentum are highly interested in talking with other Created in attempts to confirm rumors they’ve heard of supernatural sights in the trenches and the villages around them.

The Great War 416 Playing the Game The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In wartime you take what allies you can get and sort the rest out later. As troops are moved into new territory, or killed in droves, the supernatural rarely have the chance to cling to their own kin and ignore the rest of the world. They make friends with whoever they can find that shares something close to the same goals. Such arrangements bring forth new insight for all parties, or raise uncomfortable questions that none of them can answer. Strange Bedfellows Sin-Eaters are already used to mingling between two worlds, so adding a third or fourth isn’t drastically out of place. Bone Shadows and Osirans can make exceptionally useful companions when traversing the Underworld, though the former have a disturbing tendency to treat every ghost like a potential enemy, and the latter have some equally disturbing stories of creation by the god of death. Krewes of Furies welcome Ghost Wolves as celebrants, offering companionship and something almost like the passion of the Siskur-Dah. They might even choose to follow Death Wolf themselves, respecting her as a powerful ghost to be celebrated and protected. For Mourners, the Azothic memory offers a tantalizing new way to comb the past for answers, cooperating with Originists in a shared need for knowledge. Werewolves do not hunt alone. Cut off from their pack by distance or death, some turn to whatever allies they can find. Prometheans are disconcerting; walking corpses or animated objects, an unnatural mix, but the Uratha respect rage. Likewise, a Sin-Eater can look like one of the SpiritRidden, prey to be hunted, but werewolves willing to look closer can find a kindred spirit standing at the crossroads between this world and the spirit world. The Ithaeur are those most likely to treat Sin-Eaters as packmates, while Prometheans under the refinements of Iron, Tin, and even Cobalt can find the Iron Wolves eager to share an understanding of the worst humanity has to offer. Prometheans have a hard time making friends, but that hardly stops them from trying. Any of the Created born from corpses, especially the Riven, might mistake a SinEater for something too good to be true: some sort of kin born without the alchemical imbalance that separates them from humanity, maybe even kin enough to be immune to Disquiet. The Uratha, too, present tantalizing hope to the Ulgan, masters of the spirit and the flesh who could give them great insight on their Pilgrimage, or simply scare away the spirits troubling them. Fresh Extempore formed from the massive conflict of the war seek kinship with anyone who will take them, latching onto another group’s history to fill the hole left by their vacant Lineage. Pack, Krewe, Throng Sin-Eaters and Werewolves are used to mixed company. A krewe involves both living and dead celebrants, while packs are open to just about anything the Uratha invite in. In a mixed

417 Playing the Game game, Storytellers are encouraged to treat Sin-Eaters and Prometheans as formidable supernatural creatures if they join a pack, on par with werewolf members. Likewise, werewolves and Prometheans can purchase the Mystery Cult Initiation Merit to reflect joining a krewe, and access Krewe Ceremonies as normal. Over time, a pack and krewe can meld into a single organization, offering all members the benefits of both. Throngs are less formal in their arrangement, and the Promethean nature makes mingling with other creatures difficult. To facilitate a mixed game, the Storyteller may allow a pack or krewe to count as a special type of throng if the correct alchemical ritual of sharing Pyros and lifegiving fluids is practiced, like a chemical form of blood pact. The result enables other non-Created members of the throng two additional dice when resisting the effects of Disquiet. The Storyteller may also allow new ways for other characters to resolve the Disquieted Condition appropriate to their connection with the Promethean causing it, such as sharing a hunt or venturing into the Underworld. Stranger Enemies The war has plenty of horrors to go around, and stuck together everyone present has good reason to fight against them. Bone Shadows who find a Reaper in their territory team up with the local krewe to follow it into the Underworld for revenge, and the two stay together to deal with the mortal necromancy cult disturbing the spirits of the region. A Storm Lord, upon discovering how a Promethean can attract the cannibalistic, near-dead creature they’ve been stalking across battlefields, invites the Created into their pack to help hunt the Pandoran. But they aren’t the only ones who can mingle. A pack of Fire-Touched Pure learns a ceremony from a rogue geist, forming open gates to the Underworld to bring the Shadow closer. A wolf-born alchemist seeks to use Pyros to force out his own First Change, slaughtering Werewolf and Promethean alike for blood to fuel the experiments. A Centimani forms a symbiotic relationship with a Reaper, one to kill horrifically and the other to collect the resulting ghosts, each becoming the closest thing the other has to a loved one. The monsters of the Western Front have plenty of reasons to fight each other, too. Krewes of all sorts have reasons to claim the local Avernian Gates, but a pack’s totem might have other ideas, leading to a territorial clash. The Created are abominations against the natural order, prey for the Hunters in Darkness or the Iron Wolves picking up the mess after killing their human progenitor. A Sin-Eater hunts down a Frankenstein on behalf of the six ghosts who need their corpses laid to rest, valuing the needs of the dead over the half-alive creature made from their stolen flesh. One group’s righteous cause becomes another’s cruel slaughter, as vicious and pointless as the war itself. Playing with Mixed Company When creating characters for a mixed game, it’s a good idea to pick out a few ideas that interest all the players before you begin, and build characters that will interact with those parts of the setting. If no one but the group’s one Sin-Eater has any investment in the Underworld, then playing around in the Trenches Beneath won’t feel as exciting to everyone else. Likewise, if no one but the Promethean cares about their Pilgrimage, or the werewolf wants to stay put and claim territory while everyone else wants to travel, your chronicle will feel like several separate stories that happen to be centered around a group of acquaintances, or even fall apart altogether. In a mixed game where most of the characters are one type of creature with only one outsider, the latter should make sure to play to the ideas that are most important to the former, since the majority of the group will probably want to get involved with those. For a Great War game, consider the themes of sacrifice and distrust, and how those can help bring a mixed group together. A Sin-Eater whose death saves a pack of Uratha might earn an honorary membership. A Promethean could be made from parts of soldiers from two different sides, the other characters friends of the corpses from both armies. Sacrifice breeds loyalty and camaraderie between strangers, while distrust can create a need to learn someone else’s motivations and secrets. Either, or both, means a group of people all invested in what everyone else is doing with their lives. From a more mechanical standpoint, remember that different creatures will have an easier time accomplishing certain tasks. Sin-Eaters can open Avernian Gates with ease, and are adept at interacting with ghosts of all sorts. Werewolves are quick to heal, and instinctive hunters and trackers. Prometheans are immune to pain and electricity, and can push themselves past human limits for a short period in nearly any area. Other creatures might mimic these skills, but only with practice and experience. As a player, consider the role your character will have in the chronicle you’re playing, and what sort of problems you’d like them Dead Totem The Forsaken are meant to make packs under the auspice of one of the Hisil, a totem spirit to guide and protect them. But as the land of the living and the land of the dead become intertwined amid the carnage, the Shadow and the Underworld intermingle and rules are broken. A pack with a geist as its totem is a strange thing, cut off from the spirit world of Father Wolf, but it gives its members a profound connection to the Bound who walk among the trenches. A geist serving as a totem can still make a pact with a human, and such Bound are connected to the pack as deeply as they are their new ghostly companion.

The Great War 418 to solve. If another character’s supernatural nature makes them naturally better at that niche than yours, you may feel disappointed by the breadth of action your character is able to take in the game. Running the Game To most effectively capture the mood and themes of the Great War, it is best to consider the timing. How long have the protagonists been on the front? In what state is the morale of their unit? An interesting transition could be time hops between different periods and deployments. From the initial themes of patriotism, backed by inspiring music and interactions with characters who scream “For King and Country!” at the slightest invitation, slowly and deliberately introduce darker tones. Utilize reoccurring characters to demonstrate how the people who the protagonists have become familiar with are changing and being scarred like the landscape around them. Music could be a good way to achieve this. Starting out with the upbeat, morale-boosting Music Hall vibe of turn-ofthe-century Britain, into the melodramatic rousing crescendos of Wagner and the 1812 Overture, into the melancholy sound of lone pipers and the bugling of the Last Post. The War that Devoured the World It stands to reason that vampires might enjoy the carnage of the Great War. Blood runs thick and fast, and what’s another lost soldier? Meals are easy to come by. The moral implications are handwaved by members of the Lancea et Sanctum and Ordo Dracul who reason “these boys will be dead soon anyway.” Only a foolish vampire makes their haven near the frontline, however. No matter how deep you’ve dug into the earth, a well-placed shell could expose you to the sunlight. A Mekhet bloodline named the Brothers of Ypres arises at this time, known for their toxic Vitae. Mages are sometimes taught that they can perform miracles. No number of miracles, no power through in- cantation or rote, is enough to mitigate the relentless horror of the war. It’s enough to drive mages to despair. They are not so different from the young men dying every day, and indeed, sometimes those young men are mages who volunteered, were called up, or pressganged into service. Magic cannot save you from the combination of barbed wire, gas, machine-gun fire, and explosions. Many mages fall from their paths in this period, due to injury, death, or a hollow recognition of life’s futility. They never to recover. Changelings tell a tale of True Fae who target brave young boys going to war, luring them through the maze of barbed wire and trench networks into world entire made of warring soldiers from all time periods. When the Gentry tire of their toy soldiers, they return them to the conflict, usually within seconds of destruc- tion by mundane means. The Lost fear no-man’s land for the creatures that might lurk on the other side of all that mud and blood. Changelings among the ranks do everything to avoid going over the top. A compact of hunters known as Third Light emerges, comprising individuals from all sides of the conflict. Their Vigil is an odd one given the destructive backdrop of war: They are nurses, civilians, priests, and conscientious objectors. Third Light knows they cannot stop the killing, but they can attempt to stop monsters from feeding on the pain and suffering in the trenches. Third Light exists to keep mortal horror trapped in the mortal realm, eliminating any creatures (they call most unnatural critters “lice”) that prey on the conflict. Mummies have seen and experienced it all, but never before have they witnessed such wholesale slaughter. At least, not since they became Deathless. To the mummies with Memory to realize it, the millions of dead may even exceed the number sacrificed to bring about their immortality. Sesha-Hebsu and Su-Menent search for a reason — there has to be one! A god or powerful entity commanding this sacrifice for a grand ritual. But there is not. This is just humankind at work. Beasts make Lairs close to the action of the Great War, keen to sap the nightmares of newly arrived soldiers unprepared for the front’s relentless horror. In a surprise to many Primordials, their nightmarish powers are less potent in an arena of war where nightmares are real and experienced every day. The people here are suffering, but any exacerbation on a Beast’s part is trivial compared months of nothing but gunfire, explo- sions, and seeing your friends die. Some demons construct Covers to avoid serving in the war, while others do so specifically to involve themselves. Integrators and Destroyers find a special home at this time, the former believing the machinery of war has advanced so fast due to the God-Machine’s will, the latter craving the opportunity to turn the GodMachine’s weapons against It. Some Unchained are convinced the Great War is some mass deletion event under the God-Machine’s direction, while others consider it a rewrite. The rewriter demons just can’t agree on who the angels are backing to win.

419 Running the Game To preface each session, try reciting a poem to set the tone. Again, contemplate the journey the characters are taking in the session. The loss of faith in the primacy of their nation and the inherent good of its aims and goals. Don’t be afraid to go with the protagonists on a journey that may end up rewriting the history of the period. Do your players want to sneak into the officers’ manor and put an end to the infamous Field Marshal Haig? Contemplate what that might mean. Who will replace him? Could it be someone worse than him? Throwing in a character to warn the players of such an outcome might give them pause to think. Perhaps Haig’s tactics prove to have been the difference between loss and defeat in a crunch situation that turns the war in another direction. On top of that, most of the monstrous characters in the game will be loath to expose themselves to Princip levels of attention. Gavrilo Princip is one of the most important names in the history books for firing two shots whereas most soldiers that fought, killed, and died in the Great War fired several thousand and their names are not writ large on its pages. Profile matters and killing someone important will bring with it a form of celebrity that many monsters would prefer to avoid. Give thought to the three tiers of gameplay when running your scenes, local, regional and global effects can all bring something different to your sessions. From deep personal discoveries to huge outcomes that affect the fate of nations. Tier One: Trench Level Hekatonchieres are rampaging across the Western Front and creating a salient in the German line in an important section. Werewolves must choose between slaying the creatures or waiting until they have done enough damage to swing the tide of battle in this area. A collective of Sin-Eaters is calling for vengeance against its former unit commander, Oberleutnant von Glau, who ordered it to attack a French fort. The handful of their regiment that survived took the fort while he took the credit. He has spread a story that he took the fort singlehandedly after rapping on the door with his sword. A group of Tammuz who have been working on the trenches for a few years have decided to turn their talents to digging a tunnel to ferry refugees back into France. They are approached by a lieutenant who asks them to help he and his friends escape to Brittany using their tunnel. The leader of the Tammuz throng says it’s an affront to their sense of duty. Tier Two: No-Man’s Land The collapse of the salient was a great victory, but the army took huge casualties in seizing the town from the Spirit-Ridden regiment that held it. As the men bivouac down for the night, shadowy shapes begin moving. Beshilu, feasting on the many corpses and filth of the past days’ carnage spawn in massive numbers. In the aftermath of the bloody battle, they could roll up the German line like a carpet, but that would only increase the threat they pose. The Uratha must stand with their former enemies against a common foe in a desperate last stand or risk the world being overrun by the pestilent rat Hosts. Humiliating von Glau has seen him removed from his command, but the Sin-Eaters of the angry dead are not satisfied. They ask for the krewe to begin working their way up the command structure. Someone gave von Glau the order to attack that position, heedless of the cost. The search leads to a director of strategy, living well behind the line in a palatial French manor. But there’s something different about this man. He is surrounded by a strange cult and seems to be worshipping something they call the High Cromlech. After taking control of the Tammuz tunnel, the protagonists’ throng goes to rescue the brother of one of the deserters. He is stationed in a field hospital near Ypres. Upon arrival, the brother curses the throng for giving those men an easy way out and indicates that several of the walking wounded had been sent back to the front to cover the gaps left by those able-bodied men using the tunnel to escape. He charges them to bring those troops to face the firing squad. However, the throng soon discovers that the deserters are werewolves and have been claimed for an even darker purpose in the laboratory of the Alchemist, Dr. Fuchs, and he has been waiting for the throng to come looking for its quarry. Tier Three: The War Room The Beshilu were nothing more than opportunists, preying upon the decay and destruction around them, they are only a symptom of something greater. The Uratha encounter a group of seeming mortals who have heard tales of a cult worshipping something by the name of the High Cromlech. While the Sin-Eaters deal with the mortal cult above, only the Uratha can face the horror of the dreaded idigam and perhaps put an end to this destructive conflict at last. The death of Director Hoffmann has been a massive blow to the German offensive. The Sin-Eaters wail as they watch the enemy, with renewed vigor, counterattacking and recapturing the positions they died to seize. However, there is something bigger at play here and it crosses the divide between the two opposing forces. The High Cromlech is feeding upon the vast bloodshed of the Western front, supported by its pawns on both commands. The trail of the evil cult leads them to the office of Joseph Joffre himself and a bizarre lair deep underground, beneath the blood-soaked earth. The armistice should have brought a surcease to the constant destruction, but instead it seems to have brought despair and madness to the Faceless Lineage. Created who had seemed stoic and controlled in the crucible of war, suddenly descend, en masse, into a brutal Firestorm. At its center, a huge hillock rises from the mud, covered in

The Great War 420 huge, roaring, laughing and screaming faces and spewing fire, ash, and chemical death all around itself, growing by the day. An arch-qashmallim, dread servant of the Divine Principle, has come to bring an end to the Faceless Lineage on Earth in a tide of wanton destruction that threatens to shatter the fragile peace on the front. When all hope seems to be lost in view of the unstoppable force, the pack of werewolves the Throng liberated from Dr. Fuchs comes to them with a proposal. If the godlike being wishes to eradicate Faceless on Earth, perhaps the werewolves can assist by sending the last of the Lineage into the Shadow. Others suggest they help the arch-qashmallim by joining the killing spree and hastening the Firestorm’s end. The choice rests with the throng. Considering Crossover The Great War brings all kinds of monsters together in one hellish struggle. It is vitally important to consider how the different creatures can interact. How do the Sin-Eaters’ dead interplay with the spirit world of the Uratha? Can the Faceless be the stalwart force needed to hold back the onslaught of a Fire-Touched pack? Most importantly, how do these monsters view each other in the context of the horror they are all going through together? Does this lend a useful bridge between them or drive differences even further? If your game is focusing mostly on one line for protagonists, consider using Chronicles of Darkness to use the others as helpful allies or deadly antagonists. Focus on the Dread Powers section and think what sort of terrifying abilities might be useful to transplant onto the monsters you create from these lines to make them a useful friend or dangerous foe to your players. Geist: Henrietta’s Letter (Tier One) The krewe has based itself in Ypres to avail itself of the ready stores of resonance. There are many wrongs to be righted here and it is impossible to tell which cries in the night are from soldiers lost in no-man’s land or geists haunting the barren field. One piercing sob catches the attention of a young, inexperienced member of the krewe. Henrietta Covington didn’t stand a chance when the gas cloud swept through the Field Hospital 18. Even so, she couldn’t leave those poor soldiers to die like that, even had she known. But the news of the death toll is being suppressed to keep the men’s morale up. The shade of Henrietta tells the protagonists of a letter she stored in the old site. She is unsure if it’s truly safe to go there yet, or if it has been overrun by Germans. The protagonists must find it and bear it north to her beloved who is serving in one of the hospitals covering the extreme flank of the army. Discretion is key for several reasons. Not only is the news of the devastation of the gas attack at Ypres to be kept quiet from the general rank and file lest their morale falter (tier two consideration), but the name on the letter, when found, reads “Priscilla.” At this time, her relationship with Henrietta is illegal and could lead to her being imprisoned. Though, in truth, it would also see her taken from the front and danger. SinEaters must search their souls and question the morality of their position. Even here in hell, can love truly flourish despite all odds? Storyteller Advice: The mood of fear should be palpable throughout this story. The gas attacks kill at random and are harder to avoid than even the hail of bullets. Rolling a die to determine the direction of the wind could give an interesting aside as the protagonists watch the deadly cloud loom ominously nearer until being blown in another direction. In crossover terms, juxtapose this with the inclusion of Prometheans on Pilgrimage. The grappling with complex morality offers them a window to unforeseen and unconsidered possibilities. The love of these two women has kept one clinging on beyond the grave to pass on one final message of affection before parting. Should they deliver it at all? Is the risk to the morale of the troops too high? Promethean: Flying Circus (Tier Two) Equipped with a biplane, the Galateid throng led by the Algerian Madame Gazala Le Clerc is the hottest ticket in the trenches. Created for the sole purpose of entertaining the troops with displays of acrobatic brilliance as well as song and dance, the troupe is a hit and its creator, Ava St. Joan, is ensuring that their fame is spread far and wide, as long as nobody asks where these talented girls really came from. Then again, the mystique behind the “Hell’s Belles” Cabaret adds to its legend. When a sniper’s bullet takes down Ava on the eve of a big performance for the top brass, the Created are thrown into a muddle. How did a single bullet take out one of their own? They have always been organized by their creator and their inspiration came from her courage. What can they do now that she is gone? Who murdered her and to what end? Morale is all important and acts like Hell’s Belles do much just to keep armed men in their dugouts for another night. Each night they stand watch is another in which the enemy can be ground down. The loss of the act may seem small potatoes but it could be catastrophic for the prospects of the troops. Storyteller’s Advice: This is an exploration of not only the core mechanic of warfare, morale, but of the role these women find themselves playing as they strive to find their feet in a world unknown to them until now. The Great War was the first true exposure of the world to warfare on an industrial scale. And yet, humans continued to use their

421 Sources and Inspiration humor and their ability to laugh in the face of adversity to try to conquer their fears. Monitor the Morale score of the troops on the front line and challenge the Muses to come up with new and exciting performances each week. Intersperse that with encounters on their travels with other Prometheans, perhaps they encounter the Faceless. How would they react when faced with a Sin-Eater, haunted by his murdered brother? Would they aid his quest for vengeance on the sniper who took the fatal shot? Did he really take a shortcut and drive the car closer to the line than he was supposed to? Is he responsible for their mentor’s death? These are the dilemmas with which to confront these protagonists. It is a story of fun and laughter amid slaughter and despair. No matter how much they suffer, Hell’s Belles will go out and give the boys a show to keep them fighting and maybe they’ll discover the truth about themselves and their creation along the way. Werewolf: Follow the Leader (Tier Three) Erich von Falkenhayn is missing. For the Bone Shadows, that hardly seems like a pressing matter, given their totem is engaged in mortal battle with the forces of hekatonchieres and the blasted ghost of Death Wolf. However, it quickly becomes clear that these phenomena are linked. The Chief of the German General Staff has been seized by Death Wolf’s spiritual followers and taken beyond into a realm of Shadow into which even the Uratha seem unable to traverse. As they research this bizarre occurrence. The Bone Shadows come across the Sin-Eaters of the Harvard’s Soul krewe from Boston, USA. They say they’re tracking the appearance of strange ghosts within the realm of the dead. It seems unlikely that these things are coincidence. The two join forces and head out into the field to both seek the power of Death Wolf’s totem and the knowledge of the ways of the geists that will enable the Bone Shadows to be sent into the realm of the dead to chase the hekatonchieres from that plane in a strange extension of the duty of Father Wolf. Storyteller’s Advice: The mixture of Sin-Eaters and Uratha is one that interests both parties. Both have responsibility, in part, for policing the denizens of another plane of existence. What happens then when the carnage of the Great War blurs the lines between the dead realm and the spirit realm? The only recourse is for the aloof groups to work together to preserve the sanctity of all. The backdrop to this is very serious indeed of course. By placing the werewolf pack on the German side of the struggle and the SinEaters as American, you start from a position of distrust. Further, perhaps the Sin-Eaters would prefer to be rid of von Falkenhayn rather than rescue him. With intrigue at every step between protagonists who have partially common goals, this makes for a more advanced story with potentially huge ramifications. The longer von Falkenhayn is missing, the lower German morale will drop. Consider alternative timelines where perhaps a replacement can step in who is superior to the man he is replacing. All of this against a backdrop of national distrust but supernatural necessity is the theme for this story. Sources and Inspiration The Great War is a richly detailed period of history, accessible via a plethora of books, movies, television shows, plays, poems, and podcasts. There are too many sources to mention, so we provide one each from a selection of mediums while encouraging you to cast a wider net in your own research. The First World War, John Keegan (2014): John Keegan’s work could be considered the definitive historical account of the Great War. An active, enthralling text covering the horror, chaos, and futility of the First World War, this book hammers home the absolute tragedy of the period. This book also contains maps and photographs that help paint a vivid picture of the conflict’s reality. Regeneration, Pat Barker (1991): This novel adds an air of fiction to the real-life experiences of famed war poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, among other characters, as they strive to cope with shell shock and come to terms with the horrors they must face on the Western Front. A fantastic story with many elements of truth, and great launching point from which to find some of the strongest war poems ever written. They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson (2018): Peter Jackson’s new documentary movie about the Great War takes silent black-and-white footage of the era, colorizes it, and, using lip readers, fills in the dialogue being spoken. The efforts to which the production team on this work went were immense, including matching the accents of voice actors to the regions denoted by regimental badges on soldiers’ uniforms. This film will become a modern classic, timely for the centenary of the First World War’s conclusion. Hardcore History: Blueprint for Armageddon, Dan Carlin (2013): This series of podcasts is one of the finest resources you will ever find on the Great War. Listen to it while you work, while you drive, and while you walk. The quotes from the time, spoken with passion by amateur historian Carlin, along with the depth of detail the host goes in to, are quite astounding. For the person who prefers to digest information via audio instead of text, we strongly recommend you find this podcast.

The Great War 422 Lost Lineage - The Faceless (Tortured Ones) Pain is one of the great motivators in human history. Make someone uncomfortable and they will constantly strive to improve their position. Light a fire under anything living and it will instantly run, jump, crawl, climb, do whatever it can to get away. The Faceless may have been among the worst experiments conducted in the name of warfare, but within their statuesque countenance they bear pain with the stoicism of sheer rock. As much as constant agony is certainly something that can drive a soul deeper and deeper into Torment, it is also eternal and incontrovertible proof you are alive. The singing of nerves gives proof to a Promethean’s place among humanity, a common feeling which is in great supply in the trenches of the Western Front. The Faceless seem outwardly to be the very model of calm and placid contemplation. Inside, they are eternally burning and experiencing the death throes of thousands of undying nerves. This constant grief drives the Faceless to seek solitude, even from each other. Faceless tend to avoid throngs where they can, preferring to observe humanity’s path in unobstructed contemplation. They are obsessed with understanding the reason for their suffering through understanding the suffering of others. While this can express itself in a Tortured One being moved by those who show selflessness and courage in the face of personal agony, it can also drive them to inflict great pain upon others in search of surcease to their constant suffering. Their name is well earned as the Faceless’ features are those of stern mud golems. Their outward shell is hardened and blackened mud which cakes the internal tangle of limbs constantly burning in a putrid, self-contained vat of deadly chemicals. They are hulking and square in stature. The eyes of a Tortured One are deep-set holes that they have personally bored into the cracked lines of their faces during their agonizing creation with their thick fingers, their mouths are thin, fissured slits that are painful to move. They can show no expression as their hardened surface does not lend itself to great movements of the face, they cover this up by donning large gas masks that cover their entire head, giving them their title. The first Faceless was brought into being by accident. A lightning storm in France struck the ground where a mass of bodies, killed by chlorine gas, lay buried in the mud. The resulting reaction caused vaguely human shapes to rise, roaring in agony, from the ground. Those who witnessed it whispered among their ranks and word soon reached their superiors of the Entente and Central Powers alike. While the officers dismissed these tales as the rantings of fear-addled minds, mortal alchemists working in the research and development labs of both sides pushed for these techniques to be refined and used, creating an army of new soldiers to take the place of those who lay dismembered on the scarred earth, their bodies killed by the gas, blown apart by shelling and churned among the mud. By slowing the circulation of gas masks to frontline troops, the alchemists ensure an ample supply of sites to create the Faceless and bolster their ranks. The alarming convergence of death and chemicals lead to staggering numbers of these Faceless appearing in even greater numbers than other Lineages. Their numbers trigger Firestorms across the various battlefields, and though some are seen as unnatural instances of devastation, most are assumed to be part and parcel of the Great War’s seemingly endless bombardment of artillery fire and chemical death. The first of the Faceless are deployed to the trenches in Ypres where they had fallen. As more are created, they appear on various fronts. Sometimes, Faceless are deployed on opposite sides of the same battle line and tales circulate of hulking figures storming across no-man’s land, able to withstand huge amounts of fire without stopping their maddening charge. Only artillery and highly concentrated fire can stop them in their tracks. Though they do not often speak, Tortured Ones are often fluent in multiple languages, from English, French, and German to Algerian and Hindi. To the eyes of a shellshocked soldier, they appear to be immensely large, dirtcaked men, but the more inquisitive immediately realize that these Created are not one of them, leading the Faceless to regularly move from trench to trench to avoid difficult questions, often switching sides to try their luck elsewhere. What the Faceless know for sure is that this is the one place where they can roam with any sort of freedom. In a city or small village, they would be instantly recognizable. Faceless regularly possess ragged scraps of uniforms of both sides that they mend into a hodge-podge covering. As one of the few beings able to move between the opposing trenches of the war, they can be turned to the purpose of spying or spreading rumor and misinformation among an enemy trench, a feat from which either side could benefit. Given their multiple perspectives, they often suffer from confused loyalties, it is not uncommon for German and Austrian dead to mingle with British and French in the mud of the Western Front. In the dirt, all are equal. Their differing points of view can give Faceless a bizarre and unique perspective on their plight, though they may not deign to share it with their comrades in the trench. Faceless have a special disdain toward Frankensteins. Not so strong as a hatred, just a general distaste. Their prattle of suffering and their misfit, outcast state would wrinkle the noses of most Faceless if they bore noses beneath their masks.

423 Lost Lineage - The Faceless Not only do most of them have trouble relating to anyone who simply talks so much about themselves, the idea that so many of the Wretched chose to be here of their own volition, seeking some sort of bloody awakening or epiphany is anathema to their pain. What the Frankensteins truly suffer, so far as the Faceless are concerned, is an ugliness in scarring that dominates their life. This is not nobility, but narcissism. Of all Created, they identify most closely with the Tammuz, particularly as many of their number may have been dug out of their birthing mud by the shovels of Tammuz engineers. The Faceless have a strange respect for people who quietly get on with their job and lack pretention. The Tammuz do not assign station and rank upon themselves, they find their truth in labor and a hard day’s work. They appreciate the simple beauty of a job well done. When a team of Tammuz is lengthening a trench or laying barbed wire, you will often find a Faceless watching over them. It is not clear if they have taken to guard them or if they simply find a strange catharsis in their toil. Creations The Mascot Filthy Hamish is a regimental mascot. He has been adopted by the men of the 1st Lanark Militia due to saving their captain’s life simply by walking in front of him during an attempted advance. The men huddled behind him all the way back to the trench. “He’s so dirty the bullets can’t pierce him!” they joke. What they don’t know is he’s the one who keeps ripping the legs, wings, and heads off of the messenger pigeons sent to their trench. He doesn’t say much, but he watches the other lads very closely. The Carer Fraulein Marta is the den mother of her dugout. She was found by the German army in the remains of a medical outpost. Some of the men say they didn’t have the heart to shoot her, others say shooting her didn’t work. One oversized uniform and pickelhaube helm custom made by Oberjager Christoph Feldstein was enough to secure her place as an enlisted man. She has been known to treat the wounded though her care can often be a bit rough. The Refugee After wandering from the field, Grand Pierre joined a refugee train heading west. His observation of the families dispossessed from lands they cultivated for generations unnerved the others at first, but he was invaluable in warding off the vultures who preyed on the homeless

The Great War 424 and starving people fleeing the French countryside. After helping a family pull their dead child from the ruin of their farmhouse, he not only carved out a burial site himself but stood vigil during the modest ceremony the poor girl could be afforded. The family noticed him shedding yellow tears, which escaped from his gas mask and sizzled and smoked on the exposed, blackened mud of his chest. The Homesick Rajesh is not sure where he’s supposed to be, but it isn’t here. A voice in his head is calling him to head east; east through the German line and off to a home he only understands from flashes in his mind and memory of a language he doesn’t remember learning. He gathers a small team of men and women and listens to their stories of home. The blistering, humid summers of India. He feels he remembers with clarity his muddy flesh baking in the midday sun as he tended to a small herd of animals, one of whom could fit inside his hand. What he remembers most of all is the peace of it all. He promises to return these people home safely and concocts a plan to do it. They can call it desertion all they like. What are they fighting for if not to save home from this horror? And what is home without these people in it? The Equestrian Horses seem to have lost their place in war. Now they don’t carry soldiers, they carry crates. Phyllis, on the other hand, is more than capable of carrying horses. She sees those poor beasts left to die in craters. Discarded by their owners, shot even. She sees herself in the tragicomic reflections cast by their long, humorless faces. She sees a beast of burden staring back at her from every deep puddle. The others of her kind carry supplies now. They dig trenches and soak up fire. How long will it be before their masters ride them into battle? Well, all she can do is try to save something from this mess and it seems to her that the horses are the only innocents in this field. Humour: Chlorine. The humour of the Faceless guarantees them internal torment as much as their exterior ensures they can never fully express that suffering. It imbues them with inner fury and almost insane, thoughtless bravery but can make them prone to acts of self-sacrifice. The fastest way to cease their torture is to end their existence, after all. While this is one of the traits that ensures their Lineage’s temporary nature, it is not the only one. Their pain drives them to seek out the focus of their Pilgrimage with incredible, single-minded dedication. As much as their lack of physical expression makes them seem almost emotionless as statues, the internal burning of their humour also gives them a brooding, gruff aspect. Most Tortured Ones speak only when spoken to or, even then, at the uttermost end of need. They use words sparingly but observe and contemplate. Their large size and formidable strength and toughness makes them physically intimidating and their rivals often shrink from them when confronted. Even the hardiest of Uratha would think twice before rushing headlong at a Tortured One without knowing what he was or what he might do. Most of the time, their quiet, brooding nature sees them easily confused for large, dirty soldiers. It is when they are found among the civilian population they truly stand out. When falling into Torment, the Faceless begin experiencing unbearable physical pain coming from within their body. Their outer shell becomes itchy and uncomfortable then flares into a horrific burning of the mangled nerves within their form. In the throes of this pain, Faceless may become furious, rampaging juggernauts. Slamming themselves into objects and destroying equipment and furniture all around them to set free whatever it is that claws at them from the inside. Many run screaming toward opposing trenches, the shower of machine gun fire a sweet release from their suffering, whether it kills them or not. Others simply fall, helpless, to the ground, weeping and wailing, unresponsive to any attempt to communicate. Either way, these conditions are neither unusual or strange to those around them in the Great War. Disquiet: Faceless evoke the guilt and sorrow of the Western Front. Their mockery of a face may remind a victim of a lost love or of an act of barbarity they performed themselves, or reek of the perceived cowardice of one who avoided service. It quickly becomes clear the Tortured One is the root cause of those feelings, a living reminder Faceless Bestowments Living Wall: Your outer layer is hardened like stone; bullets and blades alike ricochet off of your hide. Any that penetrate often simply become lodged within as part of your monstrous structure. All Faceless have a natural Armor rating of 2. Chem Shell: Channeling their inner rage, the Faceless can sacrifice part of themselves to create a hardened, explosive shell, fused with Pyros and deadly chemicals. The Faceless spends 1 Pyros and loses 1 Health dot as it uses part of its own body to create this shell. It can then project the shell to a point it can see up to 100 feet away and detonate it. Alternatively, it can be placed somewhere like a conventional explosive. The blast destroys objects and structures caught within it and inflicts 4 aggravated damage on anyone within a 20-foot radius. Anyone who survives the blast suffers from the Poisoned Tilt (see Chronicles of Darkness p. 286).

425 Lost Lineage - The Faceless of the dark memories they’ve tried so hard to forget. Like those memories, the Tortured One must be eliminated and consigned to history. Wasteland: Faceless cause a heady cocktail of remorse and terror to grip those caught in their Wastelands. Victims jump at the slightest noise or imagine they hear the thundering of guns in a silent room. Some even claim to feel a tangible burning on their skin as though exposed to the chlorine within the Tortured Ones. Bestowments: Living Wall, Chem-Shell Stereotypes Frankensteins They do not understand suffering. Galateids At least they know themselves. Osirans All knowledge, no drive. Tammuz Kindred spirits, tools of another kind. Ulgans Proof there is more than flesh and pain. Unfleshed If only these had been more numerous, we may have been left in peace. Extempore A place to hide the shame of your life.

Hey, science-fiction fans! Boy, do we have a review for you. Remember our old pal E. J. White? Well, one of our favorite contributors is back with a movie critique. Check out White’s take on The Attack of the Giant Electropus and let us know what you think! Futurix Press loves hearing from you. Thanks for checking out the latest issue of Atomic Quarterly! The Attack of the Giant Electropus: Science Fact or Science Fantasy? By E. J. White The Attack of the Giant Electropus is a movie about three highschool friends, Marta, Jess, and Franklin, who are tracking down a spirit that possessed their cousin. Despite its B-movie-sounding name, the film attempts to highlight the existence of spirits that operate outside human understanding. In many ways, the screenwriters assume the audience believes in ghosts and spiritual possession. Though neither have been scientifically proven, it is true many Americans believe ghosts are real. Some young wives have reported feeling faint, for example, and it wasn’t until days afterward they realized that was the moment their husbands died heroically on the fields of battle. Lost loves are strong motivators to “see” a ghost, but -- just as Houdini proved back in the 20s, most mediums are con artists trying to make a quick buck. Still, science hasn’t outright disproved the existence of ghosts, and the concept of a hostile spirit is easier for an audience member to grasp (and less expensive to film) than a shapeshifting animal. Over the course of the film, Marta, Jess, and Franklin track the spirit responsible to a laboratory just outside of town. It seems the lead scientist, Doctor Stillman, was designing weapons for the war. In the process of engineering a citykilling device, Stillman accidentally opened a portal to the spirit world and a deadly, sentient electropus -- half electricity, half ghostly octopus -- was unleashed. At one point, the trio enters a large room in the laboratory to face the creature. The electropus has slid down between two giant, partially melted coils. Its tentacles crackle with electricity, and it appears to be feeding off of the dynamos. The trio’s plan is to kill the creature which, according to them, will save their cousin’s life. To do so, they design glass-studded clubs to hack off its tentacles -- which eventually kills the creature, turning it into an inky-black ooze. Now, there’s not a lot of science to this film, and it’s not one I’d recommend. My issue with the story starts and ends with this: The scientist has gone too far, and never considered the consequences of his actions. Why is science always depicted as bad? Why are scientists villains? Yes, we can all agree we have mixed feelings about the rumors coming out of Washington, but depicting a lone scientist as an evil, moustachetwirling villain is beyond the pale. And, glass clubs? Really? Where, I ask you, are the rubber boots and gloves, the dry chemical extinguishers, the means to cut the power? How were they not killed instantly by those glowing, electric orbs? Rating: F. What could have been a wonderful way to help viewers learn about the power of electricity and the real threat spirits pose has turned into a feeble attack on scientific breakthroughs. Attack of the Giant Electropus is neither science fact nor science fantasy. While it does touch on cultural commentary, heartfelt performances aren’t enough to warrant the cost of a ticket.

“You can't destroy knowledge. You can stamp it under and burn it up and forbid it to be, but somewhere it will survive.” — Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 428 Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 1938-1946 CE Many terrified WWII-era Americans dealt with their fears by writing and consuming science fiction. The hope- and wonder-filled genre gave creators and fans a vehicle to envision a better future during a dangerous and deadly chapter in world history. Tens of thousands of young American men and women fought and died to halt the hatred spreading across Europe. At home, many people used storytelling as a vehicle to explore possible futures, to help them deal with the horrors of war and look to a brighter tomorrow. It’s no wonder that stories of the era were popular with engineers, scientists, and technologically inclined young people who were desperate for a vision they could help create. Countless tales that gave readers the chance to discover other planets and star systems offered a better future. The rapid onset of scientific and technical advances provided a wondrous vision of not only what those inventions would look like, but how they’d be created and used to better the future of humanity in the cosmos. Notable authors and publishers, like John W. Campbell, worked at small presses, expanding the genre’s foundation until mainstream publishers began publishing science fiction in the 1950s. While most futuristic science-fiction stories of the era did not refer directly to the threat of Nazi aggression or the horrors of war, some did explore overtly political themes of fascism and racism. Murderously authoritarian gangs feature prominently in E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Lensman series, and in A. E. van Vogt’s Slan (1940) the protagonists were members of marginalized groups who were unjustly “You can’t destroy knowledge. You can stamp it under and burn it up and forbid it to be, but somewhere it will survive.” — Leigh Brackett, The Long Tomorrow Stereotypes and Science Fiction The stereotypical science-fiction author and fans are cisgender, white, Christian (or Christian-raised) men. While segregation, sexism, and other forms of prejudice affected science-fiction communities and publishers along with the rest of American society, marginalized authors did participate in the golden age of science fiction. Science-fiction writers were also black, queer, disabled, etc. and several were Jewish; these include Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, H. L. Gold, Henry Kuttner, Stanley G. Weinbaum, and many others. Women also penned stories; notable authors included C.L. Moore, Leigh Brackett, and Judith Merril, who was also Jewish. Though many science-fiction authors were openly liberal, issues with sexism and racism did exist. Segregation had a significant impact on publishing; science-fiction magazines of the time, where many aspiring authors got their start, were largely closed to black Americans. George S. Schuyler published several works of science fiction in the Pittsburgh Courier, a weekly African-American newspaper, but almost no work by black American authors appeared in science-fiction magazines until the 1950s. Despite the barriers to publication, many authors submitted under a pseudonym or used their initials hoping to avoid prejudice. Their lack of visibility, both as authors and readers, has led to erroneous stereotypes that remain to this day.

429 1938-1946 CE hunted and exterminated solely because their existence was considered anathema to proponents of racial purity. Other stories, like Robert A. Heinlein’s If This Goes On— (1940) warned about the dangers of theocracy and fundamentalist Christianity, problems that few people in the United States dared to openly criticize. Some historians call these years the “Golden Age of Science Fiction” because this decade was crucial to the formation of “hard” science fiction, or narratives that presented problems solved by scientifically plausible technology. Others interpret the words “golden age” as the hope early readers felt when they celebrated human ingenuity saving the day again and again. In the Chronicles of Darkness, that hope is a fading light the Forsaken and Remade strive to grasp. The Forsaken This era is one of conflict, optimism, and discovery for the Forsaken. The world’s changing rapidly, cities are growing with incredible speed, industry is booming, and the Uratha need to adapt and discover the ways this new world has altered the Shadow and has created a host of new industrial spirits. Werewolves are noticing that cityadjacent portions of the Hisil are rapidly changing and are discovering new types of spirits associated with machines and electricity. None of the Forsaken are sure how these changes will affect their tribes, their prey, and their hunting grounds, setting many of the Uratha on edge. WWII-era America introduces challenges for the Forsaken. Many young Uratha were drafted and went to war to preserve their freedom. Those left behind must figure out how to deal with the anxious and afraid; some werewolves use science fiction as a tool to help them navigate the push for modernization, what they’re becoming, and to dissuade mortals from believing in the supernatural. Middle-aged and older Uratha remember a United States where electricity, and often running water, was confined to cities and large towns. In this era, the U.S. changes rapidly in response to growing technological needs for war and New Deal programs that sought to modernize rural areas. The Uratha overseas send word they are losing hope; they see no end to the Wounds caused by the atrocious evils of mass murder and genocide. In the States, some packs are anxious that Wounds will open on American soil and do what they can to prevent that from happening. Sciencefiction stories are a beacon for them, encouraging readers to turn away from brutal authoritarianism at home only to fight it overseas. From the vast interstellar battles against space Nazis, like E. E. “Doc” Smith’s Galactic Patrol (1938), to numerous stories by Isaac Asimov and many others, the Uratha recognize science fiction is strongly anti-authoritarian and pro-democracy. Several packs believe protecting authors and their publishers is vital to protecting their territories in both the mortal world and the Hisil; other Forsaken are keenly interested in visions of a utopian future, for its rumored several werewolves have been suffering from prophetic nightmares filled with surgeons performing arcane human experiments — and they cannot explain why. Despite tribal calls to internalize science fiction as good for the Uratha, the Forsaken are not united. Some packs are openly hostile to the futuristic visions that embrace science as the only solution while spurning superstitious and spiritual beliefs. Others fixate on depictions of sprawling cities and are horrified the natural world is depicted as an inconvenience. For now, some Uratha understand that stories are just that — stories — but will wait to see what happens next. For other Forsaken who’ve remained in the States, they hunt and secure their hunting grounds, just as they did before, until they’re forced to face the truth: the world they grew accustomed to is changing, and not always for the better. When the Uratha discover corporations are mutating and reshaping humans into terrifying creatures calling themselves the Remade, they must decide whether to hunt the corporations or murder their creations. The Remade Early on, emboldened by public appreciation for the plight of those scientific progress leaves changed and tormented in its wake, some Renegades anonymously share their stories with open-minded authors, with the vague expectation of winning some acceptance and easing their isolation. Reality is not so kind, though, and they soon realize their attempts to reach out to Baselines only whet the appetites and ignite the imaginations of existing and would-be conspirators. As the genre’s writers deliberately try to predict how rapidly advancing technologies will evolve and impact society, those unfortunates caught in the wave of human experimentation they inspire become the new Deviants of science-fiction’s Golden Age: victims of America’s newfound boundless optimism about the future science will bring. The Second World War prompts huge leaps forward in technological progress for practical military purposes, spurring researchers to work overtime trying to preempt the other side gaining the advantage. For years leading up to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, science-fiction authors publish stories exploring the potential implications of atomic energy. Renegades dare to dream of achieving Catharsis in one fell swoop, seeing themselves no longer as desperate cohorts fighting against impossibly vast, faceless enemies, but as contestants in a race for inventions they believe they can use to take back their lives in decisive acts of vengeance. They engage not only in acts of violence and destruction against their Progenitors and other conspiracies that pursue them, but heists and raids to steal the very science that made them and turn it against its creators, and frenzied experimentation of their own — sometimes in labs, sometimes on themselves — to beat conspirators to the punch.

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 430 Only after the war’s end do the Remade fully understand the ramifications of what atomic energy can do in the hands of ruthless conspiracies with far more resources than qualms about ethics. Nuclear power is so much more than calamitous explosions. It becomes, for a time, the conspiracies’ new favorite way to create mutant super soldiers and walking radioactive hazards. Grossly misshapen Chimera arise wherever conspiracies test their greedy new ideas; both Renegades and Devoted spend their time cleaning up these horrific messes to protect people from stray radiation and gibbering monsters (or, in some cases, to protect the conspiracy from exposure). Cribbing from well-meaning science-fiction publications and applying the fruits of war to stranger ambitions, the Web of Pain transforms into an atomic nightmare by the end of this era. Themes and Mood “Humanity has the stars in its future, and that future is too important to be lost under the burden of juvenile folly and ignorant superstition.” — Isaac Asimov The primary theme of this era is discovery, while the moods are optimism and hope, combined with fear of change. Science-fiction stories and movies from this era inspire the Forsaken and the Remade when used in a chronicle, because they represent a tangible feeling both can draw upon to hunt, hide, run, and attack. Most, if any, stories should not be treated as factual; science fiction is a genre that readers turn to for hope and reassurance that a utopian, tech-filled future is possible. Werewolves are struggling to accept the rapidly changes in technology, because they aren’t sure how advancements affect the Hisil or why. When werewolves realize that corporations are including human experimentation in their definition of “innovation,” they seek a new, all-powerful enemy — the corporation. Thanks to heroic science-fiction stories, the Forsaken believe they can win an impossible fight. Stories move minds and hearts, and the Uratha are aware their enemies know this, too. While many people enjoy reading the latest science-fiction stories and watching the newest horror films, behind the scenes there is a secret battle for the minds and hearts of the populace. Unlike science-fiction books, movies have a broader reach and are more popular during this era. Although few understand how to influence actors, screenwriters, or directors, every spirit understands raw power, and the most important power in Hollywood is money. The lust for more money and power has always served as a powerful way to attract and create spirits and, as a result, several major Hollywood producers and their assistants are Ridden. The result has been to produce exceedingly popular horror films that depict the Forsaken as monsters to be killed; the Bale Hounds are chief among those using their powers to support these efforts. Their most obvious efforts to ensure mortals fear werewolves are The Wolfman (1941) and Cat People (1942); The Wolfman provided the first widely popular depiction of silver being used to harm werewolves. However, these films are not their only efforts to attack the Forsaken by revealing their existence to a public hungry for monster movies. Several horror films feature characters who use foul magics to summon spirits or the dead like The Devil’s Daughter (1939) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943). Horror films of this era also include mad scientists like those in The Walking Dead (1936), The Devil Commands (1941), and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) whose “science” is either a horrific threat, or a mixture of foul magic and diabolical experiments. Some were made in this era, but unlike the masterful utopian vision of Things to Come (1936), most of the few actual golden-age science-fiction films were cheaply made, comedic, or both. For the Remade, discovery and optimism manifest as opportunity, and conflict as determination to win personal battles that mirror those playing out on the global stage. From authors’ typewriters comes a glut of stories exploring the lives of mutants with superhuman abilities, inspiring conspiracies and Deviants alike to push boundaries and take chances in their ongoing struggle. The war lifts America out of its lingering economic slump, providing new opportunities for Renegades flying too far under the newly invented radar to get caught draft dodging. New technologies give For the Storyteller: Prejudice and Your Players Running a chronicle in WWII-era America en- compasses the wonders of science fiction, human ingenuity, and glamorous cinematography while touching on harmful prejudices, segregation, overt displays of sexism, and the atrocities of war. The dark underbelly of the era, which includes American Nazis, is often eclipsed by nostalgia pertaining to the golden ages of science fiction and Hollywood. Nazi sympathizers and segrega- tion supporters are presented as antagonists and should be treated as such. Should you decide to incorporate the darker elements of this chapter into your chronicle, it is strongly recommended that you talk to your players first. Though segre- gation practices were common, players should indicate their feelings on how they’d prefer to deal with racial tension during this era and how they’d like to explore the intersections between era-appropriate social mores and their characters’ identities. Together, you should agree on a safe and enjoyable approach for all involved without having to reinforce or perpetuate harm.

431 What Has Come Before conspiracies more fodder for inventive torments, but they also give Remade more avenues of escape and infiltration, and ideas for pushing their Variations beyond anything they’d thought possible. In A. E. van Vogt’s Slan, humanity hates and fears the brilliant, telepathic slans. Years of propaganda paint slans as monstrous foes who kidnap human infants and experiment on them with machines to make more slans. The truth is more mysterious, and in one orphaned slan’s quest to learn it while living on the lam, he embodies the Renegades’ struggle to dig further and further into the Web of Pain and earn lives of their own. The story’s relatively upbeat ending reflects a sympathy for the mutants that few Deviants experience, and slans don’t suffer much from the Scars of their mutations, making this tale an idealistic daydream for Remade in true Golden Age tradition. Similarly, Wilmar Shiras’ story “In Hiding” (which she later expands into the novel Children of the Atom) depicts a boy with maturity and intelligence beyond his years — a mutant with amazing mental powers, thanks to radiation from an accident at a nuclear plant. The story focuses on his loneliness as the only one of his kind, his need to hide his superhuman mind and adult activities to avoid backlash, and his journey toward trusting his secrets to his psychiatrist, who becomes his only friend. The Remade sees a more optimistic version of themselves that’s closer to Baseline and draws upon that emotion to keep running. Less idealistic but more galvanizing is the Mule, from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation series. Another mutant telepath, this one with the power to influence emotions and force loyalty, the Mule is a disfigured outcast waging a vengeful war against a galactic empire to get back at those who cast him out and prove the inadequacy of an indolent society relying on long-dead prophecy to guide it. While he’s ostensibly a villain, the Foundation itself is no better, and many Renegades take inspiration from the Mule’s crafty plans and lofty goals to launch an attack on the corporations that made them. Perhaps the closest in theme and mood to the Deviant experience is Gerald Heard’s Doppelgangers. In a society under the thumb of tyranny disguised as a pleasant, carefree life, underground rebels go to drastic measures to get an agent close enough to assassinate the world’s nigh-messianic leader. They kidnap and forcibly transform one of their operatives into a perfect physical likeness of that leader, using horrific, grueling surgical techniques that erase his identity entirely. He becomes the linchpin caught between two massive conspiracies and must decide whether to choose a side or determine his own fate. What Has Come Before The first western proto-science-fiction novels were written in the 19th century. These works included Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), and numerous novels by Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Except for Wells’ The Time Machine (1895), early novels were set exclusively in the era in which they were written. Setting stories in an imagined future had previously been limited to philosophical novels with a utopian bent like Edward Bellamy’s Looking Backward (1888). Despite the prominence of early novels, short stories were key to the growth of the genre. The first pulp magazine that published science fiction was Weird Tales, which started in 1923. Then, in 1926, radio entrepreneur and sciencefiction author Hugo Gernsback began publishing Amazing Stories. Four years later, a third magazine joined Weird Tales and Amazing Stories — Astounding Stories of Super-Science, which was rapidly regarded as the best of the three magazines; its prominence was cemented in 1937, when John W. Campbell became the editor, a job he held for the next 34 years. Campbell mentored dozens of young authors and was a major influence on the genre; part of the reason for this magazine’s success was his insistence that the published stories be scientifically plausible. View of the Forsaken Pre-golden-age science fiction had an unusual and complex relationship with the Uratha. The cosmic horror stories written by authors like H. P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith, and published in Weird Tales, sat firmly on the border between horror and science fiction. They also contained imagery and ideas that were relatively close to the realities of the supernatural world, depicting a cosmos filled with different worlds and planes of existence, most of which were exceptionally hostile to humanity. Instead of the personalized horror of Christian demons, cosmic horror posited a world not created to either aid or oppose humanity, but where humans were merely one of the less powerful and intelligent species who were at the mercy of more able sentients. None of the Uratha were certain where these images came from; some speculated that one of their number had related forbidden secrets to a few of these authors. Regardless of the reason, cosmic horror worried some Iron Masters, who feared it might lead humans into explorations or foolish quests for power that could open the mortal world up to invasion by denizens of the Shadow. The Bone Shadows who read these stories attempted to compare them with their own explorations of the newly industrial sections of the Shadow, sometimes with surprisingly useful results. For example, the surreal Martian landscape of Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey” (1934) clearly seemed to describe one type of strange spirits living in inhuman hives. However, many of the creatures and landscapes found in this story corresponded with nothing any Uratha had encountered. Although some of these tales contained vivid descriptions of new types of spirits or portions of the Shadow, these tidbits were always mixed in with creatures and locations that seem to have solely come from the authors’ imaginations. As a result, looking to these stories could be exceptionally frustrating, but a few

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 432 of the Bone Shadows who read them survived forays into the newer sections of the Shadow because some of the bits of truth proved to contain exceptionally valuable information that allowed them to defeat monstrosities that might otherwise have slain them. Most of the older Uratha initially ignored the growing field of science fiction because it didn’t stand out like werewolf-themed horror movies depicting them as monsters; some think of science fiction as juvenile or overly optimistic. Despite this, increasing numbers of Forsaken in the 1930s and 40s are reading science fiction both before and after their First Change. To many Uratha, science fiction is a promise to help them make sense of their rapidly changing world where new technologies, such as automobiles and new forms of media like movies and radio, are reshaping the fabric of society. While the Forsaken have navigated these changes before, during the rise of the Industrial Age, inventions are being released faster than ever before — and some military advancements, like the atomic bomb, are more dangerous than any weapon they’ve seen before. Many Forsaken struggle to understand how new technology will impact the hunt and must find out for themselves what the explosive growth means not only for the Uratha, but also for the world of the supernatural. Reflecting the Remade The Great Depression of the 1930s didn’t change a lot about American Renegades’ isolated lives on the fringe, except that more Baselines joined them on society’s bottom rung. These Remade found some acceptance — or at least, a few Loyalty Touchstones and a daily bowl of soup — in Hoovervilles across the country. Taking the fight to the conspiracies got harder, but the conspiracies themselves lost resources, too; they weren’t about to starve in the streets, but laying off a few dozen employees and pulling out of key investments to cut costs limited the advantages they could claim over Renegades out for blood, weakening the Web of Pain. The whimsical, swashbuckling science-fiction stories of the decades leading up to the Golden Age reflected little of Remade life, but American culture had only recently internalized the Darwinian theories that irrevocably reshaped the Deviant experience from the moment they touched paper, and much of the genre’s futuristic outlook began with Darwin. Early 20th century conspiracies were still riding the high of meddling with mutation and genetics, adopting terminology and ideas from theories of evolution and natural selection. Their work was inspired not only by On the Origin of Species and its forebears, but by science-fiction writers such as H. G. Wells, Olaf Stapledon, and Edmond Hamilton, whose stories drew directly from them. This period saw an uptick in Devoted trying to “uplift” humanity as they had done to themselves, pushing the idea of a perfected species achievable within a Remade lifetime. Wells, in particular, expanded public knowledge of Darwin’s theories through his immensely influential science fiction, including The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Time Machine, and The War of the Worlds; he popularized the worry that humanity’s evolutionary instincts would ultimately lead to society’s downfall, even predicting World War II with decent accuracy in The Shape of Things to Come. His novel The Invisible Man was a textbook tale of an Autourgic Deviant gone wrong. Several conspiracies had it out for Wells, believing he had insider knowledge about the Remade and was trying to warn the public about their unscrupulous creators, but he consistently evaded their machinations — knowingly or not. Some Renegades made it their mission to protect authors like Wells, reasoning that even if they knew nothing, their work helped turn public opinion against conspirators’ goals, and might make it harder for the Web of Pain to operate. Where We Are “Mighty little force is needed to control a man whose mind has been hoodwinked; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything — you can’t conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.” — Robert Heinlein, If This Goes On— WWII-related fears dominate the entire era in direct and nuanced ways. Though the Great Depression ended, and many Americans noticed signs that growth and prosperity were returning, America is plunged into yet another war; the looming shadows of Nazi Germany followed by Imperial Japan pervade all aspects of American life. Despite the horrors happening abroad, the era is also prosperous for those who did not go off to fight — anyone who wanted a job could find one, provided they could overcome the barriers of segregation and sexism that were pervasive in this decade. War, however, is also expensive. When WWII starts, Americans are subject to rationing of food, clothing, shoes, coffee, gasoline, tires, and fuel. Despite the economic shifts in American consumerism, more people — especially women — have jobs due to a labor shortage. A lack of filled positions in shipyards, munitions plants, and factories also causes thousands of southern black Americans to relocate north; looking for jobs but finding none because they were discriminated against. Though the science-fiction community yearns to create a utopian future; WWII-era America had its fair share of problems. For many, racial tension, gender inequality, and calls for equal rights are part of their daily lives. The war changes life in many other ways. A quarter of American men, roughly half of men between the ages of 20 and 50, serve in a segregated military; more than one in 40 soldiers will die during the war. Many houses display banners signifying a loved one’s military service; the banners adorned with blue stars recognize people in the military,

433 Locations silver stars for the injured, and gold stars to honor those who died serving their country. Patriotism and pride are ingrained in every American and are omnipresent in communities across the country. Though previously marginalized groups found wellpaying work because workers were in short supply, these jobs were often given after the government outlawed discriminatory hiring practices, largely to end New Deal-era segregation practices. Many factory owners had no choice but to hire whomever they could find, knowing that their jobs were temporary for they’d planned to fire “temporary” workers to rehire war veterans once the war was won — or should a soldier come home with honors. Despite their struggles, most Americans do have enough goods to fill their basic needs, but most luxuries are in short supply. The lack of consumer products did not dampen the need for entertainment. In fact, the movie industry boomed, ushering in a cheap means for Americans to escape their troubles, get important updates about the war, and watch heroes triumph over evil. While futuristic visions were being published in science-fiction magazines on the East Coast, Hollywood entered a gilded age and produced dozens of films starring Bing Crosby, Errol Flynn, Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr, Lucille Ball, and many others. Storytellers who wish to supplement this chapter with additional, era-specific material are encouraged to draw from “A Handful of Dust” on page 471 from Dark Eras. Cultural Milestones World War II-era history is fraught with cultural and political changes that impact mortals and supernaturals alike. Important milestones include the introduction of new technology and cultural phenomena that occur despite the onset of war and increasing racial tension domestically. This tension escalates due to several events including the seizure of personal property and placement of Japanese Americans into internment camps from 1942–1945, the Congress for Racial Inequality in 1942, and the Detroit Race Riots in 1943. Many changes were not made until after the war; the desegregation of the U.S. military forces didn’t happen until 1948. What the Forsaken and the Renegades draw upon from this era will depend upon what media they have access to. The science-fiction genre expands, shifts, and changes with every author, editor, and publisher that adds their voice. One of the most important pop culture phenomena that occurs in this era is the radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds by Orson Welles in 1938. The story is a 1930s adaptation of the 1898 publication by H.G. Wells that tapped into the public’s anxiety about the threat of global war. The broadcast incorporates a “found footage” style of storytelling and was so effective many people believed a Martian invasion was imminent. A year later, President Roosevelt opens the 1939 New York World’s Fair by presenting a speech that is broadcast on television. Other cultural milestones include: • The automatic transmission debuts in Oldsmobilebrand cars in 1940. Despite this advancement in automotive technology, car production ceases from 1942–1945 for private consumers. • Penicillin is used to help cure diseases gifting Americans with better health. • Color television was invented in 1940, and blackand-white, commercial-laden television broadcasts are offered regularly in 1941. Many Americans purchase a black-and-white TV to get updates about the war. • The song “Rosie the Riveter” performed by the Four Vagabonds, a black American quartet, debuts in 1942. • Jackie Robinson becomes the first black American to play in the MLB in 1947, ending segregation-era practices in professional baseball that date back to the 1880s. • The Polaroid instant camera is available to consumers in 1948. These milestones help shape what an American’s life was like domestically. Other inventions debut in response to the war effort and include M&M’s, the first Jeep, turboprop engine, electronic digital computer, transistor, and atomic bomb. Locations Labor shortages affect every major metropolis vested in the war effort. The need for affordable forms of entertainment skyrockets alongside the push for manufacturing and creates new job openings. Los Angeles, California The City of Angels is growing at an incredible pace and has a population that exceeds a million and a half people. It’s also one of the newest large cities in the U.S., having grown by a factor of more than 15 between 1900 and 1940. In 40 years, L.A. evolved from a small city noted for its bountiful orange groves and abundant sunshine to a vast metropolis famed for its movies, real estate, tourism, and oil production. In the absence of freeways, residents rely on a streetcar system, the Los Angeles Railway, which was expanding along with the city. The railway’s size and usage peak during science-fiction’s golden age, with more than 20 separate lines and 1,200 trolley cars in operation. Its success is not guaranteed, and rumors swirl that oil and gasoline

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 434 companies want the system to fail to usher in the age of the automobile. Los Angeles is a condensed microcosm of the nation, and people from every city and state are flocking to this mythical, growing metropolis. Despite its growth, it’s not as diverse as other cities. In 1940, the percentage of L.A.’s population that hails from foreign countries is 15 percent, which is higher than the national average of nine percent, but considerably lower than other large cities like New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Primarily, white Americans or “Overlanders” are relocating to Los Angeles from the Midwestern and Southeastern parts of the United States, in part due to segregation. War also attracts workers who take jobs in the defense industry; Los Angeles is a center for wartime industry, producing more than a sixth of all Americanmade goods for the war effort. The defense industry is rife with discriminatory practices; factories refuse to hire black Americans until Roosevelt issues an executive order banning racial discrimination at defense plants in 1941. Coinciding with the war and the golden age of science fiction, the golden age of Hollywood begins in Los Angeles. Five major studios (MGM, Paramount Pictures, RKO, Warner Bros, and 20th Century Fox) reign supreme and are controlled by individuals rather than boards of directors. These movie studios continue to profit during World War II because they control the distribution of their films and which movies are shown; many of their business practices will be deemed illegal before the end of the war. While the studios kept wages for screenwriters low, they were also one of the few places that aspiring authors could make a living. As such, several science-fiction authors living in Los Angeles also wrote for films, including Leigh Brackett (who co-wrote The Big Sleep) and Ray Bradbury. Science fiction is an important part of Los Angeles’ history. In 1934, local science-fiction fans founded one of the first science-fiction fandom organizations in the U.S., the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (often abbreviated to LASFS). This organization holds monthly meetings and helps encourage many authors, including Ray Bradbury, to start writing science fiction. While L.A. was not a home to science-fiction publishers, beyond a few local fanzines, the local science-fiction community was tightly knit and growing fast. Before war breaks out, L.A. is also home to one of the largest branches of the German American Bund, who were open supporters of Adolph Hitler, and whose efforts were endorsed by the Nazi regime. Additionally, Bund promoted anti-Semitism and other forms of racism. The dangers of anti-Semitism did not go unnoticed by Hollywood. In 1939, Warner Brothers released Confessions of a Nazi Spy, about a fictional Nazi spy ring working in New York City and the heroic FBI agent who brings them to justice. It was the first openly anti-Nazi film produced by a major studio and earned Warner Brothers a warning by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee, for “slurring a ‘friendly’ country.” Some of these same producers and studio owners

435 Locations also paid private investigators to infiltrate L.A.-based proNazi organizations, like the local branch of the German American Bund, and then reported their findings to the FBI, Congress, and the Justice Department. Despite efforts to combat fascism, Los Angeles is also the site of many injustices; 80,000 of the 120,000 Japanese Americans placed in internment camps by the U.S. government are from the Los Angeles area. During the 1930s and 40s, both government and law enforcement in Los Angeles is exceptionally corrupt, and police brutality is more common here than it is elsewhere in the U.S. during this time. Amoral Screenwriter Dominic Morano is a failing screenwriter who has cowritten several horror films. Dominic’s true love is science fiction, and he dreams of writing a landmark science-fiction movie. The screenwriter is frustrated that Hollywood producers are far more interested in horror than science-fiction films. Despite his desire to work on the genre, Dominic has passed up opportunities to work on several science-fiction films that were doomed to fail; he knows he can’t afford to be associated with flops if he wants to keep working in Hollywood. He occasionally goes to LASFS meetings, partly to spend time with other science-fiction fans and authors, but also to network and find new ways to boost his career. Dominic is not afraid to use gossip or innuendo when it suits him and has convinced two directors to hire him by mentioning that he knows about their deepest, darkest secrets. Persuasion 2, Politics 2, Subterfuge 2. LASFS Organizer Rosemary Stewart is an avid science-fiction fan who has written several stories inspired by her love of astronomy but hasn’t sold anything yet under her own name. A fierce supporter of the utopian ideal science fiction provides, she’s helping LASFS keep the lights on and makes sure its newsletter goes out on time. Rosemary is frustrated that many members of the LASFS community regard her as “the secretary” and assume she doesn’t know much about science or the genre. What most fans don’t realize is that Rosemary has been published under an alias, and her career as K. A. Stewart is growing by leaps and bounds. She can’t help but wonder what will happen when her friends find out they’ve been reading her stories all along. Expression 2, Politics 2, Science (Astronomy) 2. Movie Technician Robinson King is a skilled engineer who works as a movie technician. Being a black engineer in the 1930s, he had trouble getting hired at engineering firms, but now most of the producers don’t care or even notice who’s building sets and designing special effects — provided the job’s done quick and fast. Robinson loves science fiction and is happiest when he gets to design fantastic effects for genre films and has a reputation for being able to create striking effects on a minimal budget. Robinson’s expertise is a hit with the LASFS and, since he’s an engineer, a few authors have asked him for technical advice. While his sense of humor and science-positive attitude are important to the community, Robinson wants to create a new community of his own to inspire and encourage people of color to participate in the genre. Crafts (Movies) 3, Socialize 2, Academics (Engineer) 2 Flushing Meadows, New York The 1939 World’s Fair takes place in Flushing Meadows, New York and attracts 44 million people from April 30th, 1939 to October 27th, 1940. Millions more watch the event on newsreels or read about it in illustrated magazines. Originally billed as “The World of Tomorrow,” the fair breathes life into the ideas and images found in much of this era’s science fiction. The heart of this vision is the General Motors Futurama ride, which includes a detailed diorama of a city in the far-off year of 1960. This futuristic city was built around large, partially automated freeways filled with swift, uncongested traffic, made up of streamlined cars that drove past elegant skyscrapers with landing pads for private auto-gyros. Outside this miniature city are similarly modernized farms to reassure rural communities they had a place in the future, too. The World’s Fair is part carnival, part storefront exhibition; many pavilions are designed to sell or showcase everything from new cars or home appliances. Despite this, the technologies on display expose Americans to the truth: The world they know is changing rapidly, and technology will force them to rethink how they live and connect with one another. Several exhibits are accessible via electric escalators which are common for department stores found in big cities but are new to tourists who’ve never stepped foot in New York or Chicago. The fair also introduces new inventions that include color photography, air conditioning, nylon pantyhose, primitive fax machines that transmit documents via radio, the first television (which won’t be commercially available until after WWII) as well as unusual devices like Elektro, the Westinghouse Moto-Man. Elektro The World’s First Science-Fiction Convention Two months after the 1939 World’s Fair opens, the first World Science Fiction Convention is held nearby in New York City at Caravan Hall. Dubbed “Worldcon,” more than 200 fans are in attendance. Many of the genre’s authors and artists gather to honor Frank R. Paul — the first guest of honor — talk about science fiction, watch films, and socialize with New York fans. Attendees include Isaac Asimov, L. Sprague de Camp, and Hannes Bok.

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 436 is a walking, talking electromechanical robot — an astounding sight for tourists. Covering an area of more than 1,200 acres, the New York World’s Fair incorporates exhibits from 33 countries in the Hall of Nations. Participating countries hail from every continent, and include Mexico, Canada, Ecuador, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Morocco, the U.S.S.R., Australia, and others. Notably, Germany is not a participant in the exhibit, reminding tourists that the war in Europe casts a long shadow. The Polish pavilion is draped in black after Germany invades in late 1939, and the Czechoslovakian pavilion never opens. While visitors marvel at replicas of the Crown Jewels and an original copy of the Magna Carta in the British exhibit, Germany begins its nightly bombings of London. To encourage support, Britain’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth visit the World’s Fair; their tour is highly publicized and well-received, for no reigning British monarch has ever set foot on American soil. The juxtaposition of a glorious tomorrow and a brutal, hate-filled war with Germany becomes more jarring as the fair continues. Many Americans fear the war will spread to the U.S., and consumer anxiety was one of the reasons the fair was not as well attended and financially successful as exhibitions in years past. The start of World War II changes the fair’s theme from “The World of Tomorrow” to “For Peace and Freedom” in 1940. By the time the fair ends, Germany will have conquered most of mainland western Europe. Their lack of overt participation in the World’s Fair condemns the event’s international spirit of cooperation and peace. Germany seeks to infiltrate and subvert the World’s Fair with propaganda planted by Nazi spies and sympathizers. Planned attacks include a small bomb that kills two police officers in July 1940, and investigators seek the public’s help to identify anyone suspected of helping Nazi Germany. Nazi Sympathizer John Cranfield is an American private investigator and white supremacist who sympathizes with the Nazis. Cranfield identifies as a “fearless radical thinker.” His goal is to convince people that America should side with Germany instead of fighting with them. Cranfield is obsessed with the 1939 World’s Fair, because the event is a bawdy display of globalism; he’s not afraid to tell his friends and neighbors what he thinks about the fair. He visits the exhibits multiple times to feed his hatred and to plot ways to persuade, harm, or destroy attendees. Cranfield claims he’s a peaceful man who’d never plant a bomb or commit sabotage by himself, but it’s only a matter of time before his hatred hurts someone. Investigation 2, Larceny 2, Firearms 1 Security Guard Mateo Lopez loves being a security guard at the World’s Fair. Like a growing number of Americans, he’s worried the Nazis are planning an attack on American soil. He knows what fascism can do; one of his friends lost a cousin fighting fascists in the Spanish Civil War. Lopez takes his job seriously and takes extra shifts to ensure the fair remains safe. In exchange, he’s been gifted with free passes for his family and friends. He loves hearing how his daughter wants to grow up to be a scientist one day and, after seeing the Futurama exhibit, he’s curious what else he can do to inspire her. Brawl 2, Socialize 2, Streetwise (World’s Fair) 3. Young Science-Fiction Fan Hilda Stein is a high-school student with a passion for science fiction. While her mother disapproves of her flights of fancy, her dad is thrilled; he was one of the engineers who helped build the Futurama exhibit, and supports his daughter’s ambitions. Hilda has a free pass and visits the fair every weekend with her father. One day, she wants to build rockets that launch into space, and hopes to visit the moon one day. Hilda is also self-conscious about her ambitions, because she is German and has been accused of being a Nazi by her classmates; the teenager deals with her anxiety by keeping a sharp lookout for “the real Nazis.” Hilda carries a notebook and writes down anything she deems suspicious; she’s convinced it’s only a matter of time before she finds and exposes the enemy. Investigation 1, Science (Astronautics) 2, Socialize 2 New York City, New York New York City has its hands full dealing with European refugees and immigrants who’ve fled to Ellis Island for their lives. People worry about their loved ones overseas, and many suffer from the trauma of war. Thankfully, improved methods of transportation that include subways, buses, and cars allow more people to move to the boroughs, especially the Bronx. While immigration is slowing, almost a third of New York City residents were born in foreign countries; New York City has the distinction of being one of the largest and most diverse melting pots of peoples, languages, and cultures that has ever existed in the United States. The city is in danger of overcrowding, and a palpable tension is felt throughout. New York is still suffering from the Great Depression. Breadlines and homeless camps, known as “Hoovervilles,” can be found throughout the city until the U.S. enters World War II in 1941. Before America officially joins the war effort, New York City is also home to the first and one of the largest branches of the openly pro-Nazi and deeply racist German American Bund. The onset of World War II significantly changes the Big Apple. In 1938, almost a quarter of the city’s population was unemployed; by 1942, unemployment was reduced by a factor of four, and many immigrants and refugees were able to find new jobs. Despite this, many New Yorkers were anxious a Nazi sympathizer would hurt them or their families. The Bund did not disappear when war was declared. During World War II, Nazi spies actively target New York City to unlock U.S. military secrets and sabotage crucial military targets.

437 Locations either group; most of Bund’s members think science fiction is degenerate American trash, and most science-fiction fans recognize Nazis are monsters. If someone ever offered Eric a way to combine his two interests, he’d jump at the chance. Academics (Science Fiction) 1, Socialize 1, Subterfuge 2 Magazine Editor John Gold is the editor of Scientifiction Tales, a regional science-fiction magazine that distributes issues all along the eastern seaboard. John struggles to maintain a neutral stance in the science-fiction community; recently, he published a letter condemning the feud between the Greater New York Science Fiction Club and the Futurians. Now, the editor worries upset fans will boycott his magazine and force it to fail. As a result, he’s been attending meetings of both groups to reassure them Scientifiction Tales does not have a blacklist and won’t judge an author based on their politics. John harbors his own opinions and will be careful to express them. While he is a staunch American patriot who hates Nazis, he also doesn’t want to make people feel unwelcome, not realizing his wishy-washy stance is creating a stir. Politics 2, Academics (Literature) 2, Socialize 2 Radical Author Rachel Bonham is a surgical nurse by day and a Futurian member by night. She’s published three stories so far and is working on a novel. In her limited spare time between work, writing, and her activities with the Futurians, Rachel watches for updates about the war. She’s a fervent supporter of FDR and his New Deal, but believes his reforms need to go further. Rachel is weighing her options and wonders if her time would be better spent volunteering overseas. She’s a skilled medical professional who knows she can do some good, but fears she’s being selfish by spending too much time telling stories. Rachel needs a reason to remain behind and seeks like-minded authors with whom to connect. Science (Medicine) 3, Expression 2, Politics 2 What’s Yet to Come “Stuff your eyes with wonder. Live as if you’d drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It’s more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” — Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451 World War II ends with the release of the atomic bomb and Japan’s surrender in 1945. Approximately 200,000 people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki are either killed by the bomb or suffered from radiation poisoning. The bomb’s devastation forces people to reconsider what they thought of science. The result is a fascination with the power of nuclear energy. Many believe the atomic bomb’s power is a controllable force that can be used for non-destructive purposes like manufacturing electricity. Others continue to build bombs, ushering in a new fear: nuclear war. This seismic shift in zeitgeist affects science fiction as well. Readers who previously dismissed science fiction as “poorly written” or “unworthy” of critical attention reconsider their A Split in the Science-Fiction Community The science-fiction community is not without its ideological disagreements, and unhappy fans often leave to form their own clubs. One of the most notable splits occurs when Frederick Pohl, Donald A. Wollheim, and others leave the Greater New York Science Fiction Club to form The Futurians. The Futurians believe that science-fiction fans and authors should, to quote author and fan Donald A. Wollheim, “actively work for the realization of the scientific world-state as the only genuine justification for their activities and existence.” These fans leave the Greater New York Science Fiction Club because the sitting president, Sam Moskowitz, believes that science-fiction fan- dom should remain largely apolitical. The small number of fans who started the Futurians were soon joined by others, ranging from mainstream liberals like Isaac Asimov to avowed communists like Judith Merril. Though the Greater New York Science Fiction Club (and its associated clubs) are significantly larger than other groups, the Futurians did leave their mark on the genre. By the early 1940s, Futurian members edit almost half of the sciencefiction magazines in the U.S. Most publications had small circulations and minimal budgets that primarily showcased the work of other Futurians. New York City is also the hub of science-fiction publishing and is home to Amazing Stories, Astounding Stories of Super-Science, Weird Tales, and Wonder Stories. Science-fiction authors Isaac Asimov, Alfred Bester, Hugo Gernsback, Judith Merril, and Donald A. Wollheim all live in New York City, and editor and author John W. Campbell lives in New Jersey and works in Manhattan. Magazine editors are building vibrant and lively communities of science-fiction editors, authors, and fans which spurs the creation of several science-fiction clubs, drawing fans who later become authors themselves, like Frederick Pohl. Bigoted Fan Eric Weber is an ardent science-fiction fan who thinks Adolf Hitler has some “good ideas.” He prefers stories of powerful men who take what they want and kill any who oppose them. Eric knows his ideas are unpopular, and when he attends science-fiction club meetings, he keeps to himself unless he finds others who agree with him. Eric’s brother, Frank, is a prominent member of the local German American Bund and has recently been asked to join the organization. Eric doesn’t feel like he belongs to

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 438 tastes. Science fiction, thanks to the work of science-positive editors and authors, is widely considered educational and inspirational. The growing demand for science-fiction stories eclipses what magazines can provide, and larger publishers begin producing novels for a hungry audience. While science fiction thrives, the dream of a glorious future may never be realized. Americans are becoming fearful of a nuclear apocalypse and grow increasingly suspicious of science. Geniuses and life-saving visionaries are replaced by chilling sociopaths who care more about their ego than how their scientific discoveries might be used. Increased racial tensions, urban decay, Cold War paranoia, and a blowback to women’s rights affect everyday life, reminding Americans that all may be created equal — but they’re not treated as such. The dream of a peaceful, intellectual technocracy is eroding thanks to profit-focused corporations, corrupt politicians, and brutal authoritarians. Life in the 1950s is a stark and significant shift from the 1940s. Conformity is a survival tool for many, and anyone who stands out will suffer needlessly. Extreme nationalism mixed with paranoia is rampant, caused by the threat of nuclear war and tensions between American and the U.S.S.R. Many middle- and upper-class white people treat anyone of color as second-class citizens. Women who once performed vitally important work at home and overseas are watching their opportunities dry up, are told their opinions don’t matter — or are accused of being communists. Both the Forsaken and Remade should avoid giving anyone the impression they don’t fit in to avoid being branded as communists or radicals. Members of either group who are not in a position of power will incur problems if they’re not sufficiently deferential. Even adolescents will be labeled problematic if they don’t submit and obey. Though the threat of annihilation, the Red Scare, and a civil rights backlash marks the 1950s, the dream of a utopia persists. Growing past its roots, science fiction will continue to be a beacon of hope and a balm; as technology improves so does public entertainment. Affordable color televisions, cameras, and new advances in filmmaking techniques allows filmmakers and storytellers to push boundaries and comment on current events. B-movies like Them! (1954) Earth vs. The Flying Saucers (1957), The Blob (1958), provide social commentary on the spread of communism using metaphor and allegory, much like previous films did during the war. As the push for civil rights continues, science fiction acts as a beacon of hope that equality is possible. In 1968, Star Trek depicts one of the first on-air kisses between a white man, Captain Kirk, and a black American woman in a position of power, Lieutenant Uhura. As the genre’s popularity expands and sexist and segregation barriers to publication erode well past the 1960s, a growing number of marginalized authors will write and publish science fiction, participate in fan communities, and attend conventions. The future of science fiction depends upon a shared vision where all feel welcome. As Americans become more connected, the genre offers them a chance to see a bright future of which they can one day be a part. Werewolf: New Enemies, Old Hunting Grounds The golden age of science fiction draws genre fans seeking the means to escape the challenges of living in WWII-era America. For the Forsaken, their experiences in this era will be informed by what they feel about scientific and technological advancements, because those attitudes shape the hunt. While some Forsaken will be influenced by science-fiction stories, others will pass them off as fanciful and unimportant. Storytellers and players should collaborate to discuss what the Forsaken feels about science and, by extension, sciencefiction stories as a guide to create characters, antagonists, and chronicles. Some Uratha may treat science fiction as an escape to set aside their supernatural life for a short while, a place to find hints about the Hisil in these stories, or the map to a better world. Forsaken fascinated by electronics and other forms of technology might use science-fiction stories as a guide to devise futuristic inventions capable of affecting the supernatural world. One planned device might detect, trap, or destroy spirits while another could manipulate the fabric of the Gauntlet; though neither is plausible, science-fiction stories help the Forsaken push boundaries, experimenting with what they know about the supernatural and cuttingedge science. Part of the mystery in a Forsaken chronicle set in this era is figuring out what is possible and what isn’t. This era can also be inspired by science-fiction tropes that first debuted in this era to tell the story of a character’s First Change. A serious and devoted science-fiction fan will see their First Change through the lens of their fandom. The Hisil is an extradimensional plane of existence, spirits are the inhabitants of this alien realm, and werewolves are creatures whose unique genetic heritage was somehow altered or enhanced when their ancestors fled to Earth. While more traditional Uratha might scoff attempts to reframe Forsaken lore through the lens of science fiction, others will understand that allegory is a powerful tool and coping mechanism. Werewolves of this era may have a passing familiarity with science fiction; most will have seen popular horror films like Nosferatu (1922), Son of Frankenstein (1939), and The Wolfman (1941). Chronicles can be structured around an attempt to change or sway public opinion by targeting movie studios and screenwriters in Los Angeles. Most Uratha will recognize that movies can be dangerous because they have the power to expose their secrets and draw unwanted attention. For WWII-era Forsaken, this threat is new and strange — and the Uratha must figure out what that means. Technology and the Forsaken The Forsaken of this era will be caught between exploring the unknown, fighting dangerous threats, and defending what

439 Locations they know. Rapid urbanization and continued industrialization are transforming the Shadow in unusual ways. In the 1910s, there was no more than a handful of minor spirits associated with automobiles, now they are exceptionally common and more powerful. As cities grow and change so do their reflections in the Hisil. Exploring and understanding these new regions of the Shadow (and the strange inhabitants who lurk there) could be interesting to players who enjoy heroic stories about characters exploring alien worlds. Character identities play a role in this era because of the war overseas, segregation, and other prejudices omnipresent in day-to-day life. These struggles can be overcome by an emphasis on scientifically plausible stories, advanced weaponry, and the sudden shift in technology that impacts the Forsaken’s way of life. Rapid changes affect the Uratha’s perspective and are a source of conflict and great storytelling. Questions to consider when building a character include: • Where does your character live? The effects of the New Deal are underway, but rural areas are slow to modernize while urban centers incorporate technology quicker. Your character’s lifestyle, including the availability of food, clothing, and entertainment, are directly impacted by your home life. Where your character lives is crucial to what jobs they take, their participation in the science-fiction genre, and how they’re impacted by military maneuvers. • What technology does your character have access to? Scientific achievements are often directly related to the war effort. Their effects on the Uratha are largely unknown in this era; partly what the Forsaken must deal with is how each invention impacts their pack. On the home front, Americans build ships and submarines, different types of aircraft and ground vehicles, and a variety of weaponry. Advances in medicine, transportation, media, and the preservation of food benefit Americans at home and abroad. • What is your character’s profession? Existing prejudices are occasionally set aside because there is a shortage of workers during this era. Jobs include factory workers, munitions experts, lab or research assistants, traveling salespeople, army recruiters, science-fiction authors, editors, and publishers, camera operators, filmmakers, scriptwriters, agents, singers, and actors. Your Forsaken’s profession affects what technology they have access to and what future changes they can expect; these era-specific jobs can also be tied your role in Uratha society. • What are your views on scientific achievement? Though science is neither good nor evil, many Forsaken will stereotype scientists because they don’t trust them. Do you feel that scientific inventions should be monitored and controlled? Or do you think that some risks are necessary to advance our knowledge? Use these attitudes to shape what antagonists you’re drawn to hunt. • How do you feel about advanced weaponry? New weapons are being designed that will change the face of war forever and many Forsaken fear what will happen to the Gauntlet when these superpowered armaments are unleashed. Biological, chemical, and atomic weaponry threaten lives and have the potential to cause greater harm. Do you feel these destructive tools are necessary? Or, do you think the war can be won a different way? How does this affect the hunt? In this era, anxieties about rapid inventions spurred by war shapes a character’s beliefs and interactions with other Forsaken and antagonists. Devise motivations that directly tap into your views to help sharpen your role in a chronicle. Choosing a Tribe In this era, Bone Shadows are leading the efforts to explore and understand the changes in Shadow. More traditional werewolves fear the increasing rate of change, and some worry that newly formed spirits and the shifting fabric of the Hisil portends the end of all Forsaken. Other, more optimistic werewolves see these new spirits and undiscovered regions of Shadow as an opportunity to rework their alliances with various spirits and forge a better world, filled with spirits that’ll help them patrol the Gauntlet. Blood Talons: The Blood Talons who are not fighting overseas have waged war with any werewolves who threaten to expose them for what they are via burgeoning media. At the Iron Masters’ urging, some have also united against those who sympathize with the Nazi cause at home, instead of simply hunting werewolves who trespass on their territory. Those who do recognize the Nazi party is still active on American soil — despite official organizations being shut down when the war began — and that some of their own might be taken in, while others don’t see the point in restricting their prey based on politics. Bone Shadows: While hunting ephemera, a few Bone Shadows have noticed similarities between their prey and what shows up on screen or in a story, leading them to wonder if science-fiction stories and B-movie films are prophetic and, if so, why. The Bone Shadows also wonder what the rapid increase in technological advancements portends for the spirit world. Some want to find out if there’s a supernatural cause behind the ever-increasing rate of invention and if that will lead to a new type of spirit. Hunters in Darkness: The Hunters in Darkness are focused on a different issue. The poverty and squalor produced by the Great Depression, combined with the continued rapid growth of cities, has resulted in an explosion of the Hosts. Without the efforts of this tribe, the Hosts might have already overrun entire cities and large towns, transforming them into monstrously inhuman hives. While most Hunters in Darkness care little about exploring the geography of the Hisil or the wonders that advanced mortal technology can produce, more

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 440 than a few find the futuristic visions of spotlessly clean cities appealing. Some younger members of the tribe are convinced these visions represents victory over the Hosts. Iron Masters: If other Forsaken are skeptical about the future, the Iron Masters strive to embrace it by taking jobs in factories, shipyards, munition plants, laboratories, etc. to have access to technology that can help them undermine the enemy. Others are fascinated by futuristic stories and, like the Bone Shadows, wonder if they’re prophetic — to a point. Where the Bone Shadows take an occultist’s view of the era, the Iron Masters view science fiction as a tool to help them foresee the future. The Iron Masters hunt Nazis while also tracking and investigating the rise of corporations. Despite their willingness to embrace technology, the Iron Masters don’t want a repeat of the Great Depression, and suspect that capitalist companies, if left unchecked, will spawn new enemies. Storm Lords: The Storm Lords are gathering in larger cities to hunt the Ridden and the Spirit-Claimed in the cities of New York, L.A., Chicago, and Detroit. The tribe doesn’t know why spirits are behaving strangely in these cities, but they are searching for answers. A few Storm Lords believe that spirits are attacking the Forsaken by possessing key individuals who can expose the tribe’s secrets. Others wonder if this uptick in supernatural activity is natural and will fade eventually once the war ends. For now, the Storm Lords gear up and go where the hunt takes them. Ghost Wolves: The Unbound struggle with their consciences. Though the tribe does not target one type of prey, many participate in the war effort as best they can. The Ghost Wolves have seen war before, but sense that something is different and far more dangerous this time — for them. Some Ghost Wolves have signed up with the military to find answers; others hunt Nazi infiltrators. A few have committed to establishing deeper connections with other packs and tribes, fearing the way of the lone wolf is too risky in an era fraught with enemies. In this era, hunting fascists and angry spirits are not unique to one tribe or another; their preferred prey should be used as a guideline. Most werewolves understand the atrocities in Europe and Southeast Asia will permanently twist the Shadow and greatly empower the hideous Maeljin in unexpected ways. Some Forsaken have committed to undoing this damage, while others work to prevent a conflict from erupting on American soil by hunting Nazis. Finishing Touches Fans of science fiction in this era tend to have some education in science- or technology-related fields. Scientists and engineers read popular science-fiction magazines alongside hobbyists and radio operators. It is recommended that a Forsaken character possesses some degree of education; this knowledge will help them deal with issues in urban areas, military shipyards, or industrial complexes. Most chronicles will likely feature werewolves confronting new industrial and urban spirits, and their skills will help the Forsaken understand their enemy’s strengths and weaknesses. When preparing to face a hostile spirit associated with radios or radio waves, a werewolf who understands how that equipment works would shield a room against radio waves with metal foil or screen mesh. By doing so, they might even discover those actions tapped into the spirit’s Ban or Bane. All Auspices are useful in this setting for different reasons. Ithaeur will be useful for chronicles where the players explore the Shadow, and Elodoth is perfect for characters involved in the science-fiction community. When battling strange and unfamiliar spirits, both Irraka and Rahu remain invaluable, and a Cahalith’s dreams can reveal essential information about new types of spirits, or upcoming changes in the Shadow. Selecting Gifts is also important to ensure the Forsaken fits into this milieu and type of chronicle. Gifts of Insight, Knowledge, and Technology will help Forsaken who explore the swiftly changing urban Shadow or want to learn about new industrial spirits. Characters who are drawn to the science-fiction community may want to consider the Gift Lunatic Inspiration (Werewolf: The Forsaken Second Edition, p. 127); though it’s dangerous, this Gift can be a useful way to help specific authors of their choosing. Totems can help shape the chronicle in ways that better fit this era and its themes. For example, a skyscraper totem is an excellent option for characters in New York City; thematically, the totem would tap into the chronicle’s urban focus and the sprawling, futuristic metropolises that are the hallmark of science-fiction stories. Spirits associated with technology, like radio, electricity, or more abstract spirits like a spirit of progress are also good choices. A spirit of science-fiction magazines would be an unusual choice but would help anchor the Forsaken to the era. Can a Werewolf Write Science Fiction? A werewolf might have trouble being a prolific au- thor while satisfying the demands of the hunt, but it is possible for them to write short stories or novels and submit them for publication. A profession that requires them to edit, read, and choose submissions, put together a science-fiction magazine, or acquire novels is far too restrictive for the vast majority of Forsaken. However, Wolf-Blooded or human members of the characters’ pack could easily have a job in publishing and would be in an excellent position to gather information or help meet authors. Pack members who don’t work in publishing do have other options, however. They might attend a reading or a convention to discuss an author’s story; doing so will give them firsthand experience to help glean supernatural insights or discover the strange visions that inspired a story.

441 Locations For the Storyteller: Escalating Themes Forsaken chronicles set in the Golden Age of Science Fiction will touch on three types of stories: the hunt for Nazis, how new technology affects the supernatural, and how the supernatural is behaving oddly. Nazi Infiltration In a large American city like New Yorkz City or Los Angeles, a group of Bale Hounds infiltrating the Pure of the Fire-Touched loyal to the Maeljin seeks to transform the metropolis into a vast Wound like ones present in Nazi-occupied territories. These werewolves are working with local Nazi sympathizers who are planning to poison the local water supply and plant bombs in regions of the city inhabited by immigrants and refugees. The Pure helping with these efforts are regarded by the Nazis as “people who possess powerful ancient Germanic magics.”. The Pure have also helped several high-ranking members of the local Nazis become Urged or Spirit-Claimed. One of the local Uratha, perhaps one of the characters, receives a message from a local Blood Talon who was had been investigating rumors of Pure activity. The message is carried by a spirit and is somewhat garbled but mentions a Pure pack is planning a campaign of death designed to transform the city into a Wound. The message also mentions they are working with humans to accomplish this. Unfortunately, the Blood Talon messenger is found dead later that day with several pamphlets circling events in the area. Another werewolf, preferably one of the player characters, who’s loosely associated with the local science science-fiction club recognizes the clue left at the scene. Several of the club’s members are Jewish authors who have been investigating rumors that local Nazi sympathizers are targeting them. These fans are not soldiers, and are ill-equipped for a confrontation with the Nazis, but have been sneaking around and listening to rumors; older members have been paying bartenders, street vendors, and delivery workers to keep their eyes peeled. Fans believe the Nazi sympathizers are planning something “big” in a few weeks and mention the Nazis have recently gotten involved in some “weird religious stuff” and are working with new people who seem scary. Several of the fans have attempted to go to the police with this information but have been rebuffed due to a mixture of anti-Semitic views and a general disbelief that a secret cell of Nazi sympathizers is working in the city. If the characters can pool their resources and knowledge together to formulate a plan, they can prevent a catastrophe. Supernatural Inventors Every Uratha knows that conventional technologies from radios to X-rays are incapable of manipulating the Gauntlet, trapping spirits, or detecting members of the

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 442 zHosts. A small, yet growing, number of scientists can create inventions that affect spirits or the Gauntlet. These inventions are unique devices that can be built, repaired, or even duplicated by their creator, but are impossible for anyone else — including werewolves — to duplicate and can never be mass-produced. These inventors might be ordinary mortals who initially understand very little about spirits and the Hisil but are rapidly learning more. Alternately, they could be Spirit-Claimed who are hostile to the Uratha and are building inventions that can identify or harm werewolves. A human inventor who believes they’ve developed a method of observing and contacting a parallel world may either attract the attention of the characters or notice that one of their devices reveals that the characters possess unusual amounts of extradimensional energy Alternately, a Spirit-Claimed engineer may be building devices that can detect werewolves, temporarily suppress the Forsaken’s ability to change form, force them to change, or even create supernatural barriers they cannot cross. This inventor may be simply using these devices to protect themselves from the Uratha, or they might be planning to demonstrate these devices to the press to set off a wave of anti-werewolf paranoia. If the inventor or inventors are Spirit-Claimed, the characters not only need to stop them, but also find out why some of these creatures are developing a new ability. Perhaps there is a new and powerful spirit associated with technology in the characters’ city that has found a way to empower some of its Spirit-Claimed servants — if the characters destroy it, the inventions may become nothing more than curious-looking junk. If the inventors are simply curious scientists who stumbled across the unknown, the characters must decide how much to tell the inventor. On the positive side, the character’s devices can be quite useful, and they would make an ideal addition to the pack — if the characters can get the person to trust them. For a larger-scale campaign, perhaps the emergence of some powerful technological spirit is enabling a small, but steadily growing, group of inventors and hobbyists to experiment with such devices. The characters must then find a way to either prevent this from happening or recruit the inventors to help them create new technologies that can detect spirits, Hosts, and Ridden people several blocks or even several miles away. Alien Invaders An entire city block’s worth of people are being possessed, Urged, or Claimed. Each passing night, their numbers increase, coinciding with attacks on the Hosts and the Uratha. Some local werewolves believe the Pure are involved, while others are convinced extremely powerful spirits are at work. Local Uratha agree this situation must be investigated and stopped before the city’s leaders catch wind of the “epidemic”. The characters may explore several options: They can journey deep into the Hisil and attempt to find answers there, they can ally with scientific experts and investigators to find out what they have in common, or they can get to know, capture, or interrogate a newly- arrived spirit. Regardless of their approach, the pack’s goals are clear. First, they need to find out why so many spirits are arriving and taking over people. Then, they need to discover how they can prevent more people from being harmed. Lastly, they must figure out how to reverse the effects. Their investigation will most likely require traveling into the Hisil and either defeating or negotiating with one or more powerful spirits. For a somewhat stranger and less apocalyptic version of the problem, perhaps the spirits are possessing inanimate objects such as buildings or machines. Regardless of whether the spirits inhabit people or objects, the vast majority aren’t destructive or overtly malevolent. What’s more, the Hosts have mostly fled the area where these spirits are showing up, but there is clearly a problem that needs to be solved. Will the characters solve it with trickery, negotiation, or violence? Antagonists Antagonists of the era range from the Ridden to Nazi sympathizers. In addition to the bit players and antagonists presented in this era, the Hate-Monger, a Spirit-Ridden antagonist found in Werewolf: The Forsaken on p. 208, is an ideal choice for this setting. This creature was most likely working in one of the branches of the German American Bund — a group that openly supported Adolf Hitler until the U.S. entered World War II. Because a significant percentage of golden-age sciencefiction authors were Jewish, the science-fiction community is an obvious target for this entity’s hate. During the war, the Hate-Monger (Werewolf the Forsaken Second Edition p. 209) might shift their focus to target other marginalized groups like Japanese Americans. CRIMSON HORROR /JOE DAVIS “I heard you’re having some disagreements with your director over the latest mummy film, would you like some advice?” Background: The Crimson Horror is a spirit of fear who found Joe Davis, a young and ruthlessly ambitious man, in a moment of vulnerability. Davis had recently lost his job as a director’s assistant; while he was out running errands in the dead of night, he encountered a “monster with fangs and fur”. Scared out of his wits, Davis called the police — but was laughed at. When he showed up on set several hours later, he was fired for being tardy. Later that night, a slippery voice whispered promises in his ear, telling Joe that it was his duty to expose those monsters to the public. Davis agreed. Deep down, he knew he’d have to pay a steep price. To him? Exposing “monsters” was worth the cost. Now, Joe Davis is on the verge of becoming

443 Locations Claimed. Though he has yet to merge with the spirit of fear, Joe refers to himself in private by (what he calls) his superhero’s name: the Crimson Horror. Description: Joe Davis appears as an attractive man in his early 30s; and, thanks to hours of theatrical makeup, prosthetics, and costuming, Joe is preparing for the transformation his spirit of fear warned him about. He wears well-tailored suits, always drives a new car, and is a regular presence at almost every Hollywood party. He currently lacks any official title beyond being a consultant; producers and directors often clamor for the Crimson Horror’s attention, because it’s ideas and suggestions lead to runaway hits. Storytelling Hints: Joe Davis has willingly given himself over to the spirit of fear, because he loves the promise of social influence he’ll use to alter horror movie scripts and set designs. The Crimson Horror has sworn an oath to expose the supernatural whenever it can. Amongst the lies it has told Joe: The Crimson horror was responsible for obtaining funding for The Son of Frankenstein (1939) and told the director of The Wolfman (1941) that werewolves were vulnerable to silver. Despite what it promised Joe, the Crimson Horror doesn’t care about exposing the supernatural. The spirit of fear simply wishes to frighten as many people as possible, and understands that horror movies are an excellent way to do that. Its plans to extend its influence are pragmatic; it wants more Urged and Claimed mortals to work in Los Angeles to make more horror movies. To deal with the Forsaken that stand between it and success, the Crimson Horror hopes to make a very, unique movie exposing the Uratha’s secrets to hunters. Over the next several days, Joe Davis and the Crimson Horror will merge — unless the Forsaken can find and stop him. (See page 191, Werewolf the Forsaken Second Edition.) It is strongly recommended that the Crimson Horror will use the Hypnotic Gaze Dread Power to spread its ideas to producers and directors. Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 3, Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Presence 4, Manipulation 6, Composure 3 Skills: Athletics 1, Drive 1, Expression 2, Firearms 2, Intimidation 3, Occult 3, Persuasion 3, Politics 2, Socialize 2, Stealth 2, Subterfuge 2 Merits: Contact (movie industry, wealthy Californians) 2, Resources 3, Safe Place 2, Status 1, Striking Looks 1 Willpower: 6 Essence: 20 Health: 8 Initiative: 7 Defense: 5 Speed: 12 DUKE OF LIGHT “Mmm…Mmmore…” Background: Widespread electrification is relatively new. Even in the largest U.S. cities, it’s less than 50 years old. However, this has been enough time for new spirits to be created, and older spirits to warp and change to fit their new conditions. The Duke of Light is an old spirit that used to be a spirit of artificial light who thrived in the presence of candles and gas lamps. The electrification of large cities like New York and Los Angeles, with their streetlights, neon signs, and huge movie marquees caused this minor spirit to thrive and grow vastly in both power and size. Now, it hungers for electricity even more than it craves light. It is the spirit in charge of light across the entire central downtown area of the city and holds court over a huge array of spirits associated with electricity, light, and industrial technology. Description: The Duke of Light is a bloated, octopus-like entity seemingly made of thick, brightly glowing tentacles that occasionally crackle with electricity. While it can move quite rapidly by running on its many limbs, it prefers being stationary, feeding on electricity. It holds court in a huge, hive-like structure that is the Shadow counterpart of a major local power station. Storytelling Hints: The Duke of Light’s primary drives are its hunger for electricity and its desire to spread more artificial light, especially large displays of outdoor light. Its hunger for electricity is so great that it occasionally causes minor power shortages and brownouts as it draws power directly from the mortal world. Also, in addition to a host of servants and assistants in the Hisil, it also regularly sends spirits to possess, Urge, or Claim humans so that they will construct ever-larger outdoor displays of lights. It fears darkness, but could someday cause a massive blackout, which would drive it to take revenge on the humans it blames for all its problems. Rank: 4 Attributes: Power 10, Finesse 9, Resistance 7 Willpower: 10 Essence: 25 Initiative: 16 Defense: 9 Speed: 19 Size: 8 Corpus: 15 Influences: Electricity •••, Light •• Manifestations: Materialize, Reaching, Shadow Gateway, Twilight Form Numina: Awe, Blast, Implant Mission, LeftHanded Spanner, Rapture, Regenerate, Telekinesis

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 444 Ban: The Duke of Light cannot turn off or break any electric lights. If it does so, even by accident, it begins to bleed 1 point of Essence per turn until it either turns the light back on or flees the scene. Uratha who seek it out could carry fragile electric lights to prevent it from attacking them. Banes: The Duke of Light must be locked in a well-insulated, utterly dark room with no electricity for 30 days. Deviant: Shattered Utopias Many Renegades have no patience for the burgeoning wave of science fiction sweeping the nation. Nothing these writers come up with rivals their own tortured lives for seeing what pushing the boundaries of known science can do; why would they want to read fictional tales that don’t accurately reflect their experiences, written by people who have no idea what they’re talking about? But some find comfort in the idea of a new genre of storytelling that touches so closely on what was once an unimaginable horror in the public’s eyes. If readers become accustomed to stories like theirs, they say — if readers can sympathize with aliens, cyborgs, and mutants — then maybe one day the discovery of real Deviants in their midst won’t cause fright and chaos. Maybe they could live openly. Maybe they wouldn’t have to be so isolated anymore. This brave new world hopeful Remade imagine not only never comes to pass, but shatters like glass against the realities of a nation filled with fear of the enemy once the war begins. Americans with Japanese, German, and Italian ancestry suffer bigotry and imprisonment at the hands of their own neighbors and the government that’s supposed to represent them. If Baselines can’t even accept each other, Renegades realize, they’ll never accept inhuman Deviants outside the pages of a comic book or magazine. Those who hoped fictional heroes like Captain America and Superman would lead to a change in their lives soon learn to resent these perfect, handsome saviors who never have to deal with uncontrollable telepathic static in their minds or watching their own powers hurt everyone around them. By the time Hitler rises to power, the common science-fiction trope of “homo superior” — evolutionary offshoots of humanity with brilliant minds and amazing abilities — hits uncomfortably close to home Chronicles of Darkness in the Golden Age of Science Fiction The denizens of the supernatural are threatened by the rapid changes of technology, many of which are described in science fiction, and the deadly war that affects their homes in America and overseas. Their anxieties tend to manifest in unique ways; some will flee until the threat has passed, some will fight, some will rally allies, some will obsess over new stories and wonder if the authors are prophetic. With these sweeping changes, this era is rife with crossover potential, as European Kindred flee to American cities, posing as refugees, and concentrate on securing domain; many plot to overthrow local princes, hoping to reestablish a base of opera- tions that will ensure their legacy. Meanwhile, many American Kindred are struggling to maintain order and control and are forging new alliances to ensure they remain well fed and hidden. As cities grow faster than they expected, American Kindred compete to secure their domains before their rivals do. Mages are unclear how new technology will affect them, and while they are eager to learn more they’re preoccupied with the war effort and are actively feeding Nazi occultists bad information in America and abroad. Changelings are scrambling to protect the Hedge; the cannons of war have destroyed many ancient gateways, and they are desperately trying to control their routes in and out of the Hedge. Some Changelings believe the Hedge is being attacked from the “inside” by an unknown assailant. The Begotten worry that they’ve become unwanted by other members of the supernatural community and struggle to find their place; some seek valor in war, while others have decided to lay low until the war ends. Cultists are warning mummies that the threat of war has reached North Africa; before the campaign begins in 1940, many of the Undying will need to decide if they’ll risk a fight or not. The Deathless have told their cultists they must discover which other supernatural creatures are active in the area; should the Deathless go to war, they will need allies. Hunters are acutely aware that war affects the supernatural and seek to prevent widespread panic; those who’ve enlisted are watching and waiting for encounters with bloodsuckers and cryptids fleeing a battlefield. Other hunters, who are keeping the home fires burning, are pulling double shifts to patrol the streets; they are afraid their communities are more vulnerable to attack and remain ever vigilant to protect them. Hunters are on high alert because they believe they’re the last line of defense against an unseen enemy, but what they struggle with are the rumors that members of Null Mysteriis and The Cheiron Group may actively be creating them for their own ends.

445 Locations for Remade who already questioned whether they really belonged among Baselines before the Third Reich twisted the concept into a living nightmare. Despite dashed hopes, many Renegades wish they could enlist in the military and fight overseas. Most don’t dare. Even for those who can pass for Baselines, conscription means exposing themselves to any conspiracy willing to put the smallest effort into getting their hands on registration records. At that point, any conspiracy worth its salt could easily manipulate the highly regimented lives of enlisted soldiers and auxiliary personnel. Instead, most Renegades stay off the grid and content themselves with doing what they can on the home front — rooting out enemy spies, protecting those doing crucial work to turn the war’s tide in the Allies’ favor, and taking their hatred of the Nazis out on the next best thing: conspirators. Those Deviants who do go “over there” smuggle themselves onto ships, steal identities, or are Remade by the U.S. Armed Forces in the first place. The military usually places Devoted soldiers in units with just a few specialists who ensure the Deviants reach their destinations unimpeded before unleashing their power; sneaking these super soldiers across enemy lines to strike key targets is a common tactic, and military conspiracies have no wish to expose their best secret weapons to too many eyes, lest the enemy capture one and reverse engineer more for themselves. Origins This era sees a substantial uptick in Autourgic and Epimorphic Remade, not only in support of the war effort, but as a result of the popularity of science-fiction stories and comic books depicting super soldiers and mutants with amazing powers. Quite a few of these Deviants are originally inspired by the provocative cover of Captain America Comics #1, which shows the eponymous hero punching Adolf Hitler square in the face. Many willing subjects imagine their abilities will make them instant war heroes, though the reality never lives up to expectations, prompting many to go Renegade once they realize what they’ve gotten themselves into. Some of this era’s Exomorphic Remade are soldiers whose superiors force them to undergo experimental treatments. Some are POWs or victims of atrocities, whom the military (U.S. or otherwise) uses as guinea pigs. Still others aren’t products of the war at all, but victims of greed spurred by technological progress, or grandiose delusions of humanity’s future inspired by science-fiction tales. For Genotypal and Pathological Remade, the opposite is often true — science-fiction authors hear rumors or receive anonymous tips from conspiracies trying to lure Deviants into the open, and write stories inspired by real events. Once nuclear reactors are built in the United States and atomic weapon tests begin in the early 1940s, Genotypal and Pathological Remade tend to result from the intersection of accidental exposure to radiation and strange supernatural phenomena. New Form: Supersoldier A Progenitor could design any Deviant for violence, but World War II sees a sharp increase in Remade specifically intended for war. The ideal qualities, from a conspiracy’s point of view, include obedience, resilience, vigor, heightened senses, peerless skill, and the ability to single-mindedly focus on the mission regardless of complications. A wholly human, propaganda-friendly look helps, too. Militaries on both sides experiment with drugs and chemicals to create better soldiers among their Baseline troops, but a Supersoldier far surpasses anything mere narcotics can do. A Supersoldier is primed for combat at the expense of traits people need to thrive in peacetime — conspiracies hardly want their major investments walking off into the sunset after the war to settle down with a family and a mortgage. Inevitably, a conspiracy imprisons even the most loyal Devoted after the war’s end to keep these dangerous, warlike Remade in check until the next time they’re needed. Systems: Once per chapter, as an instant action, the Supersoldier’s player may redistribute dots from any Mental or Social Attributes to any Physical Attributes, up to (3 + Acclimation) dots. This may increase a Physical Attribute beyond 5 but may not increase it to more than twice its normal rating, and may not reduce a Mental or Social Attribute below 1. Attributes return to their normal ratings at the end of the scene. In addition, during character creation, the Supersoldier’s player may reduce the character’s Willpower by any number of dots (to a minimum of one) to attach that many bonus dots of Variation Magnitude (which must be combined with Scars as usual) to her starting Loyalty Touchstones; the total bonus Magnitude may be spread out among as many or as few Loyalty Touchstones as the player likes. Grouping them together means more power applicable in fewer situations, and a higher risk of losing access to them all at once. The character may only use those Variation dots when taking actions that directly support the Loyalty Touchstone to which they’re attached; even Persistent Variations toggle off otherwise. Any time these Variations stop working, their combined Scars also vanish. When the Touchstone is Wavering, the character gains a minor Instability each time she uses the attached Variation dots (or once per scene, for Persistent Variations). When the Touchstone is resolved or lost, the player may reattach the bonus Magnitude dots to different Loyalty Touchstones or hold them in abeyance until she replaces the lost Touchstone with a new one. If the Touchstone moves from Loyalty to Conviction, the attached Magnitude dots follow it; but if she later loses that Touchstone, she must reattach the dots to another Loyalty Touchstone. Only the following Variations are eligible for this bonus Magnitude: Anomalous Biology, Carapace, Computer-Aided Processing, Enhanced Speed, Environmental Adaptation,

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 446 Hyper-Competence, Immunity, Lash, Mimicry, Natural Weapon, Omnicompetence, Platonic Body, Superhuman Attribute (Physical or Mental only), and Telepathy. New Transmissible Divergence: Psychic Indoctrination Whenever a Remade with this Transmissible Divergence uses any Variation on a Baseline, the target becomes indoctrinated. An alien thought infects her mind and rewrites her to match its origins. Treat this as a disease (Chronicles of Darkness, p. 96) that deals no damage, but requires a Resolve + Composure roll once per chapter to avoid progressing further, with a penalty equal to the number of chapters that have passed since they were first infected. If the roll succeeds three times in a row, the indoctrination is suppressed for the rest of the story; but if the character is exposed to its vector again, it immediately picks up where it left off. Each time this roll fails, the character’s player suffers a cumulative one-die penalty to Mental and Social rolls and gains the Persistent Obsession Condition regarding one otherworldly or inhuman phenomenon (Storyteller’s choice). At −1, every failure on a roll with the character’s highest-rated Mental or Social Skill is a dramatic failure; at −2, all Skills within that category; at −3 or more, all Mental and Social Skills. If the character accumulates a −5 penalty and would progress further, she instead experiences Divergence, resolves Obsession, and gains the Madness Condition; in action scenes, she suffers the Insane Tilt instead. Remade resolve Madness by gaining or losing a dot of Conviction or Loyalty, or by achieving exceptional success on a Faltering roll. A cure to pre-Divergence indoctrination is up to the Storyteller, but it should require at least a story’s worth of investigation and effort. Conspiracy: Project Gladiator War isn’t the place for everyday Joes and Janes like you and me. Someday soon, we’ll have better than the best humanity can offer on the front lines, waving the red, white, and blue. Standing: 3 Background: During the original Great War, as technological progress shaped military tactics, Army nurse Hazel Griffin saw the need for more rigorous scientific research under direct military command; relying on independent contractors presented, in her mind, too much risk. She convinced several key officers to enact her plan: The army quietly absorbed a small commercial defense laboratory, putting the company out of business and offering its scientists jobs with salaries they couldn’t refuse. Griffin only found

447 Locations out after the contracts were signed that the Cheiron Group had once owned that company, and now every monstrous corpse and impossible chemical in their cold-storage cellars was hers to study and exploit. Even the wealthy and mysterious hunter conspiracy couldn’t stand up to the American military-industrial complex in the middle of the biggest war the world had ever seen, so they reached what Griffin called “a comfortable arrangement.” At the end of the war, with no more need for accelerated wartime R&D, the government dismissed the “drafted” scientists back into their civilian lives — officially. Unofficially, Griffin and her co-conspirators fudged the books and continued to pump money into the lab under the cover of a series of shadow projects, foreseeing the day when the United States would once again plunge into war. This time, they intended to be ready. Description: Over the past 20 years, the lab — known now only as Project Gladiator, or “Special Biodefense Project 665-K” whenever anyone asks where the money’s gone — has progressed from developing chemical weapons and experimental rifles to super soldiers Remade through illegal human experimentation, picking up where Cheiron’s splinter company left off and veering wildly from its original purpose. Griffin, an avid science-fiction fan, somewhat whimsically named the project after Philip Wylie’s novel Gladiator, published in 1930 and believed to be the primary inspiration for comic-book-hero Superman’s 1938 debut. She dreams of the day when the army will openly field an entire battalion of supermen, catapulting America into a new era of heroism as a shining example for the future. If a few failures cost a few lives along the way, well — every war has its casualties. By the time the Manhattan Project launches in 1942, Griffin has her hands on an avenue for top-secret information about its research, and over the course of that year she adds an atomic energy branch to Project Gladiator that produces Deviants powered by nuclear fission. Principles: The Future Is Now, Reason Before Passion, Predict the Enemy Virtue: Courageous Vice: Patriotic Attributes: Power 4, Finesse 2, Resistance 5 Hierarchical Node: Project Gladiator Laboratory (Hazel Griffin, army nurse). Middle age hasn’t slowed Griffin down, and although her co-conspirators wield the rank, her boundless vision and drive make the wheels turn. She’s remained steadfast and sure for over 20 years as the no-nonsense, practical idealist at the project’s heart. Temporal Nodes: Edgewood Arsenal, Aberdeen, MD (The Mustard Commando, Invasive Devoted). Gladiator’s home base is a series of laboratories and offices within this chemical-weapon manufacturing and testing facility. It stays here even after the CWS builds the larger Dugway Proving Ground for expanded tests in 1941. The Mustard Commando guards the base and keeps rebellious test subjects in line. Chemical death runs through his veins in place of blood, he grows extra limbs covered in coarse hair and bulging muscles at will, and even the officers fear the shadow of his massive, grotesque bulk. Rumor has it he was the prototype, developed from modified mustard-gas treatments and parts from the corpse of a mutant lycanthrope that arrived with the rest of the original lab. Corporal Baxter O’Hara, Airman. Gladiator teams up with the USAAF to fund a task force responsible for scavenging the remains of supernatural creatures, remnants of arcane substances and lore left behind in monster lairs and sorcerous sancta, and anything else they can get their hands on from the shadow world without making contact with any shadows — at least, that’s the goal. Sometimes, contact is inevitable. The men report evidence that another military unit keeps beating them to the scene somehow; Griffin works to find out who her competition is. Corporal O’Hara is young and brash with a tough-guy attitude and thinks just scavenging isn’t enough, but he obeys orders — for now. Exploitive Nodes: Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) (Captain Archie Decker, supplier). The CWS is the army body responsible for developing and testing chemical weapons, and defenses against them. Gladiator falls under its jurisdiction, insofar as it falls under anyone’s. Decker provides supplies, equipment, and test subject volunteers on the down low. He secretly wants to volunteer for the super soldier experiments himself and take to the front lines as a reborn war hero but hasn’t yet found the guts to approach Griffin about it. Fort Meade and POW camps (Doris Mosley, prison-bus driver). When volunteers dry up, or the scientists want to test a new idea but don’t want to “waste” American soldiers on initial trials likely to fail, Griffin brings in POWs from Fort Meade and the camps scattered around Maryland and Virginia to make up the gap. Doris Mosley is the driver of the prison bus Gladiator uses to transport subjects. She speaks five languages, German and Italian among them, and lately she’s overheard prisoners whispering about strange happenings in the camps — people speaking in tongues and growing metallic protuberances from their bodies, eyes shining like headlights in the dark, radios turning themselves on and off. She dares not mention it to anyone, for fear they’ll think she’s lost her mind; but eventually, one of these Claimed prisoners makes his way to the lab, and someone starts asking questions. Structural Nodes: Military budget misappropriation (Harcourt Burns, clerk). None of this works without the dough, of course, and dough requires people shuffling numbers around on the books to keep Gladiator under the table. Everything in the lab is only accessible with security clearances that don’t officially exist, funded with money earmarked for a nested series of dead-end missions and projects that produce just enough results on paper to avoid scrutiny from the brass. Harcourt Burns is the neurotic clerk who fudges the paperwork for the officers and has a general’s secretary for a sweetheart — which is worth a lot of perks but makes people nervous about the prospect of the relationship going sour. Griffin has backup plans for dealing with her, should Burns ball it up for everyone.

Fear and the Golden Promise of Tomorrow 448 Undisclosed switchboard (Shirley Sugar, plug-pusher). A secret switchboard that only reaches a few private telephone lines connects Griffin’s people to anonymous contacts with code names who leak information about nuclear research and other classified military projects to Gladiator’s R&D teams. Shirley Sugar (real name unknown) is the switchboard operator at Project Y, the secret Los Alamos Laboratory opened on New Years’ Day 1943 that spearheads the Manhattan Project. She knows everyone and everything, and if the wrong people ever get their hands on her, Gladiator’s lives aren’t the only ones at risk. Conspiracy Icons: Chemical Weapons Stockpile (Biochemical Augmentation; attached to Edgewood Arsenal); Supernatural Cache (Uncanny Tactics; attached to Task Force: VULTURE) Biochemical Augmentation — Members gain the 8-again quality on rolls to resist all poisons for a scene after visiting the lab and undergoing biochemical treatments. Uncanny Tactics — Members with lab access and enough security clearance may use the Predator’s Cunning Chimeric Variation at Magnitude 2. Web of Pain: Burns does his best to keep the money flowing, but Gladiator must be cautious; too much cash moving around at once raises questions the conspiracy would rather not answer. They have an uneasy alliance with one of the wealthiest old-money families in the country. The Winthers of Louisiana stay out of the public eye and carefully protect their secret: a hereditary mutation that affects one child per generation dating back centuries, which lets them draw immense power from celestial bodies, but requires them to consume elemental spirits to stave off unnatural hungers and delusions. (Structural) Shirley Sugar has a lot of friends interested in what she knows, including a few in the publishing industry. One of her publisher contacts at Futurix Press (p. 450) subsidizes — and influences — several science-fiction conventions across the country, fostering certain kinds of ideas among the rapidly growing fanbase. The aim is to groom writers who will predict new ways to create mutant superhumans and utilize nuclear power — and in the process, feed ideas to Futurix’ busy Progenitors. (Structural) Unbeknownst to anyone, one of the officers who runs the show with Griffin is a Nazi sympathizer who sells secrets to the conspiracy’s German counterpart, a biochemical lab working to create an even more so-called “perfect master race” of Übermenschen by way of Remade whose condition can be transmitted virally to others with particular genetic markers. (Hierarchical) HATTIE GRIFFIN, THE ATOMIC ACE “Move over, flyboys. The Atomic Ace can take it from here!” Background: Hazel Griffin’s only child Hattie dreamed of joining the army, too, but she wanted to fly planes and fix engines like her father. Mr. Griffin died in the Great War when she was just a little girl, but she treasured photos of him in uniform, and taught herself how to take things apart and put them back together while her widowed mother was busy with her conspiracy. Hattie knew nothing of Hazel’s real work, but she knew her mother had secrets, and was determined to find out what they were. When the Second World War began, Hattie joined up with the WAAC immediately. After only a few months as an auxiliary mechanic, she found an opportunity to eavesdrop on a few conversations between Hazel and one of her scientists and insisted on joining Gladiator. Hattie soon became an indispensable asset to the labs, keeping the machinery running with her clever hands and morale high with her indomitable spirit. After the first time she witnessed a successful Divergence, her fascination knew no bounds. What if she herself had such powers? Surely then, no man could tell her “no.” Surely then, she could be a real soldier and fly overseas with the boys. It wasn’t long before she begged her mother to let her volunteer, but Hazel forbid it. Not long after, in the wake of a pitched battle between spirits and Forsaken in which none survived, Task Force: VULTURE scavenged a fetish containing a uranium spirit, and Gladiator’s scientists pressed it into service as the paranormal catalyst for a serum that would create super soldiers powered by atomic energy — at least, that was the idea. They hadn’t yet successfully tested it when, one night, Hattie stayed behind when everyone else went home, claiming she had to fix a piece of malfunctioning equipment. She convinced a lab technician who was sweet on her to help her operate the specialized serum injector she’d helped build, and strapped herself in. The grueling atomic treatments lasted late into the night. When her mother and the staff came in the next morning, they found her unconscious in the injector, and the lab tech — her Progenitor — dead from radiation poisoning. But Hattie awoke stronger, faster, and tougher than any poster boy for Uncle Sam. She became a soldier with astounding physical prowess and devastating destructive capabilities — but she’s completely dependent on the Adjusting for Your Chronicle In Deviant: The Renegades, the characters’ total Variation Magnitude defines a conspiracy’s Standing and other traits. The Standing given here for Project Gladiator is a general indication of its efficacy and a suggestion for how powerful Deviant characters should be when they go up against it. Feel free to adjust its Standing and Attributes based on the chronicle’s threat level and how many Renegade characters the conspiracy has it out for, as normal.

449 Locations lab for the atomic serum that not only keeps her in peak condition but staves off a radiation sickness that would rot her from the inside out. Description: Hattie — or “the Atomic Ace,” as the Baselines call her with equal parts pride and trepidation — is a tall, buff, athletic woman in her mid-20s with chinlength, curly brown hair, a confident smile, and dark eyes that glow with radioluminescence when she uses her Lash Variation. She’s officially on the books as a WAC corporal and wears the uniform, along with aviator goggles, a parachute, and a sidearm that other women aren’t allowed to use. The men who fly with her treat her with respect and awe, but also jealousy and fear; her superior officer forbids her from mingling with anyone outside the conspiracy or appearing anywhere that might give the war correspondents opportunity to snap a photograph. Hattie considers herself lucky that her Divergence hasn’t altered her outward appearance much, but in combat there’s no mistaking her impossible strength and speed — or the lesions, burns, and unnatural tumors her body develops whenever she unleashes her full power — for anything ordinary. Storytelling Hints: Far from the proud, independent Remade among the flyboys she’d intended to be, Hattie endures Gladiator’s tight leash and constant tests to monitor her progress, and only leaves the airfield on specific orders. She’s a good pilot, but more often she’s a paratrooper, landing behind enemy lines to take out key targets with minimal backup. Unlike most soldiers, she periodically receives recall orders to fly back home to deal with conspiracy emergencies, capturing or killing Renegades or bailing VULTURE out when it draws too much attention. She’s considered breaking free and smuggling herself into another squadron of regular airmen, but her dependence on the serum only Gladiator can make keeps her around. Still, she believes in the cause and wants to prove to her mother she made the right choice (even if sometimes she’s not sure), so she throws herself dutifully into battle whenever she gets the chance and inspires the squadron with her dauntless attitude. Her biggest regret is the loneliness her Divergence has brought; she hates being forced to live separately from the other WACs, she hates living in secret, and she hates the way even her friends are too afraid to spend much time with her anymore. It’s put a damper on battlefield romance, too. Characters who want to encourage Hattie to turn Renegade must first figure out how to replicate the serum. Origin: Autourgic Clade: Coactive Forms: Devoted, Supersoldier Attributes: Intelligence 3, Wits 4, Resolve 4, Strength 5 (7), Dexterity 3, Stamina 4, Presence 3, Manipulation 2, Composure 2 Skills: Academics 1, Crafts 4, Investigation 4, Medicine 1, Occult (Spirits) 1, Science (Nuclear Power) 1, Athletics 5, Brawl 5, Drive (Airplanes) 4, Firearms 3, Stealth 1, Survival 2, Weaponry 3, Empathy 2, Intimidation 4, Persuasion (Inspiring) 3 Merits: Dauntless, Fleet of Foot 3, Hardy 3, Hypervigilance, Status (Project Gladiator) 1, Tolerance for Biology Willpower: 3 Stability: 7 Conviction: 1 (Touchstone: an Epimorphic Renegade who escaped Gladiator recently) Loyalty: 4 (Touchstones: Hazel Griffin, the U.S. Army, radio operator Martha Bates, the Mustard Commando) Aspiration: Prove that women can be good soldiers Initiative: 5 (10) Defense: 8 (11) Armor: 1/3 Speed: 16 (32) Health: 9 Acclimation: 2 Controlled Scars: Deterioration (Lash) 4, Unstable Variation (Specialized Sense; Physical) 2 Persistent Scars: Dependency (Enhanced Speed, Immunity, Platonic Body) 5, Murderous Urge (with +1 Blatant Power Deviation; Superhuman Strength) 2 Variations: Enhanced Speed 2, Immunity (Radiation), Lash 5, Platonic Body 3, Specialized Sense (Geiger counter) 2, Superhuman Strength 2 Weapons/Attacks: Type Damage Range Dice Pool Special Lash 3L 30 10 No Init penalty; ignores Defense; inflicts Blinded & grave Sick Tilts Unarmed 0B (L w/ trench knife) Melee 10 Grapple 0B Melee 10 Trench knife 0L Melee 8 Colt M1911A1 2L 30/60/120 6 Notes: Hattie’s Dependency Scar reflects acute radiation poisoning, exposed to a lethal dose during her Divergence; she has the Persistent Radiation Poisoning Condition (p. 450), with Toxicity 5. Her Immunity Variation cancels out all effects, but when her Power Failure Scar deactivates it, the sickness returns in full force. Her Lash Variation is a blinding ray of white-hot nuclear fire, and her Platonic Body is her Supersoldier Variation.